Time's Never Expendable
by nickdaman6
Summary: Zaun. A place where science reigns and every day brings a new discovery, no matter what the cost. Not a problem for the upper class, but for Ekko and his friends, staying alive is a normal day to day struggle. But a chance meeting with a certain blonde Demacian girl sparks a chain of events that could lead to a war nobody wins. When it's all over, time may be all Ekko has left. A/U
1. A Cliché Beginning

**A Cliché Beginning**

 **Ekko's Point-of-view:**

She walked through the dank back alleyways of Zaun like she actually belonged in the city. Trying to blend in, no doubt. But she was blending in far too well, sticking out like a sore thumb. A dirty hooded robe that hid her face? I can't believe that someone would think that wearing a trashy piece of clothing like that would make them unnoticed by these muggers. No doubt she could handle herself, but not knowing the streets of Zaun was a huge disadvantage.

And how do I know she's a 'she'? That under that thick, brown cloak hides a delicate figure with blonde hair who knows nothing of the streets of Zaun? Well, I've already tried saving her about… fifty times? To be honest, I loss track around twenty-seven.

Counting how many times I've had to go back and find another way to save this out-of-place girl is the last thing on my mind. Actually making sure she – and myself in the process – stays alive is what concerns me. But I haven't been able to find a solution to where we both come out of these unscathed.

Let me go over the situation:

So, I'm sitting on one of the rooftops of Zaun, admiring the smog of gaseous garbage and chemicals clouding the sky, when suddenly I see this hooded figure walking below me. Definitely didn't belong here, they would be gone in minutes. Not a few moments later, five men came out of the shadows carrying guns, knives, the like. Knew it. Another soul sucked up by the back streets of Zaun.

I saw them skirmish, the hooded figure was able to at least take out four of the five attackers. Some sort of light magic was being used. It looked like they bent the light around them to attack the ambushers. Like I said, though, the hooded figure took out only _four_ of the figures.

The fifth one managed to sneak around and stab him – her? Yup, a 'her'.

When she fell to the ground, grasping for life, her hood came off. Long, blonde hair tumbled out from under it and I could see her face. Definitely a girl. Not bad looking either.

As the last member of the muggers stood over her, finger on the trigger of his gun, I jumped into action. Before he could finish her, I pressed the glowing button on my right hand glove, activating my Z-drive. Thankfully I was smart enough to turn it on the moment I saw the shadowy figures of the muggers hiding in the dark corners of the alleyway. She can thank me for my initiative and fast-thinking later.

Much later, might I add.

The first attempt at trying to save this girl went as well as it could have. Took out one of the muggers by jumping right on top of him. Easy. Still in shock from my sudden appearance, I was able to take out another one of the muggers with a quick blink. From there, everything fell apart. One echoing gunshot later, and I was at the mercy of the other three muggers. She could probably handle the rest, but I would be dead long before I could get any help. So, redo.

Pressing the glowing button again, I came back to my spot atop the building. From there I repeated my actions, except I blinked over to the mugger with the gun ready to shoot me. Seemed to work. But this time, all three muggers came at me at once. Great. One knife wound later and I'm forced to go back to square one. Maybe the girl can come to her senses this time and help? Wishful thinking.

Try number twelve. I manage to get three of the muggers, now. Had to change up my strategy. I jump in the middle of them, catching them all off guard. I blink to one, injuring him. Then, I throw a timewinder in his direction, finishing him off and crippling the guy behind him. One dead, one out of the game. Looks like I might be able to pull this one off.

Parrying the knife I knew was coming behind my back, I strike down another of the muggers. Three down, two to go. These two must be the leaders of the group. They're the smart ones. One had managed to sneak around the girl and hold her hostage. The other held me at gun point. Now I know I could have avoided this, but looks like that will happen in another timeline. I push the Z-drive's button again and go back to the building.

Number twenty-seven? Yeah, twenty-seven. I'm able to take out three of the muggers. Four of them go down, however. Yup, blondie finally got in the fight and took out one of her attackers. But out of the shadows comes the fifth mugger, knife at the girl's back, and I'm too far away to stop him. Well, I know where this is going. Back to the building. Definitely my spot now.

Repeat…

She dies.

…repeat…

She's fatally wounded or I'm fatally wounded.

…repeat.

Success? All of the muggers are dead. We're both alive. Alright, might be getting somewhere. Nope. She traps me in one of her light spell, thingies. And there she goes, running away like I'm going to attack her next. Great. I finally saved her and she turns on me, escapes, and leaves me without any answers. Well, I have all the time in the world, right? I know how to actually win the fight, now I just need to make sure she can't escape.

And now, I look down at this scene for (hopefully) the last time. Mistake after mistake after mistake has led me to this point. It's not like anything has change, that's how I've always managed to win my fights. It's how I've managed to stay alive on the streets of Zaun for all of these years. People try to never make mistakes, they think that's how you fail. Well, I've learned that mistakes are acceptable consequences in everyday life.

After all, making mistakes is the first step to success.

* * *

 **Time's Never Expendable**


	2. Chapter 1: One Step Ahead

**Chapter 1: One Step Ahead**

…Three… Four… Five.

She was sure of it. Five in total.

Ever since Lux had taken a turn down this one alleyway, five men had immediately begun to follow her. They thought they were being sneaky. Lux smirked. No one could sneak past Lux, of that she was sure. Everything she had learned during covert-ops training back at the academy had made it to where only the most skilled of assassins could sneak up on her. These muggers were nowhere near that level.

'If only there was more light here,' she thought jokingly 'I could confuse them with just a snap of my fingers. But thanks to that gloomy sky, I can only cast simple spells.' She pouted internally at the pollution that hid most of the sun's rays. Very little, if any made it to the surface of Zaun.

'Oh well, these rags help me blend in. Better than walking around in the open.'

Stopping abruptly, she saw that three of the five men she counted now stood in front of her. Another two came out from the shadows behind her. All of them had an array of weapons. But something wasn't right.

As Lux examined the weapons they held, she noticed several pieces of high tech equipment. Augmented daggers and guns. No way these men could have been simple muggers.

A smirk came to Lux's face. This would be more challenging than a handful of simple street brawlers.

"So, you aren't just some penniless muggers," Lux said with confidence. Or what sounded like cockiness to anyone else.

One of the men laughed. He clapped mockingly. "Well done, Luxanna Crownguard. I would expect nothing less of Demacia's Lady of Luminosity."

The men who talked looked like he had been ripped apart by a pack of dogs and stitched back together. Lux didn't doubt it. After all, they were in Zaun, where unchecked experiments and surgeries occurred all the time. The man, who Lux believed to be the leader of the group, had a mechanical arm, eye, and several long, jagged scars covering his hairless face. He wore a crooked grin, showing Lux wasn't the only one who was cocky.

"We heard of a mysterious blonde girl who, and I quote, 'was arrogant enough to think slapping on some grime and muck would convince people she was a Zaun beggar'. End. Quote"

All of the men laughed at the comment.

"Well they didn't have to be so rude," Lux frowned and crossed her arms in agitation. "I'd like to think I was being confident, not arrogant…"

"All the same to me. My men and I were told to either bring you in or kill you. Now, with how much more my… employer told me he would pay if you were alive, I suggest you come quietly. It'll make life easier for both of us."

Lux smiled. "Well, I'd hate to disappoint your buyer, but…" She produced a baton from her robe. Not seeming like a weapon to many, it amplified Lux's magic, making her more efficient in combat. "I'm never really one to back down from a challenge. It'd be a bright decision if you back away now."

Again, all of the men surrounding Lux laughed.

"A little spunky," the leader spoke "we like that. But we like money better, so…" He brandished a gun and aimed it straight at Lux's head. "I think we'll have to do a little bit of damage to that _lovely_ body of yours."

"Sicko," Lux chided.

"Men, all at once. Attack-"

Before the order could be fulfilled, someone fell from the sky. Landing on his feet, the new arrival didn't waste any time in joining the fight.

Instantly, as if teleporting to his opponent, he appeared behind one of the gunmen behind Lux. Noticing it wasn't a fatal wound, the figure yelled at Lux.

"Duck, Blondie!"

She did as she was ordered, still in too much shock from the sudden arrival to yell back a chastising rebuke.

Once she dove to the ground, the young man threw a weird, blue object that Lux had never seen before. It passed through the injured man and made its way through his accomplice directly across from him. Both men had a new, bloody hole punched through their guts. No doubt they were both dead.

As Lux stood up, now away from the fight, she finally got a good look at her new ally. Dark skinned, the young man had a white mohawk and a similar colored hourglass shaped tattoo covering the majority of his face. He wore rags, but Lux had to admit they suited him; he had a vigilante look to him. That was probably the best word to describe him. And protruding from his back, with a light blue glow to it, was some sort of hourglass shaped device. A powerful piece of technology without a doubt. But Lux couldn't even come close to guessing what its purpose was.

By the time Lux had rejoined spectating the fight, she saw the young man take out another of the muggers. This one had fired his gun several times at the mysterious street boy, missing him every time. As the mugger shot at his target, he just moved out of the way. No second guessing, no staggering, he just seemed to know where the mugger was going to shoot. And that cost the gunner too, as the young man ran his attacker through with his glowing blue sword.

She noticed one of the men from the front was now stealthily moving in behind the young man to end his life. Lux brought up her baton again, ready to either shield the young man or harm both him and her assailant. Before she could even begin casting one of her spells, the attacker had begun to bring his dagger down, looking for the kill.

Lux made to warn the street boy, but she never got that chance either.

A flash of blue light, like lightning, and the young man was now facing the silent killer, blocking his dagger. Deftly he did a backflip from his kneeled position, clearly catching his attacker in the chin with his foot and knocking him back to the ground. Without pausing, the mohawked young man jumped from his landed position and plunged his sword cleanly into his opponent's chest.

'How did he-' Lux began in her mind, but was stopped by the sudden chill of cold steel being pressed against her throat.

"Damn the extra money, looks like I'm bringing in just your head," the leader of the group of attackers smelled Lux's hair. "Too bad, you're a pretty little thing. I could have saved you from V-"

A solid thwack ended the leader's sentence. Lux turned to see a crooked steel dagger now embedded in his head. The young Demacian backed away quickly, turning to see the dark skinned young man had been the one to throw the dagger.

For once, Lux was stumped. She didn't know how he had taken out all five men, let alone come away from the fight uninjured. His speed was his only ally. His combat style was a little clumsy and impromptu, Lux knew that from the handful of times she saw her brother spar when he was younger. As well, he wasn't the strongest individual she had seen, his lanky arms made that obvious. So how could he have won that fight?

Lux tried not to care and shook her head free of these questions. She would find answers later. For now, she needed to return to her mission. So, twirling her baton, the young woman made to cast a light binding to make sure he didn't attack her either. But she was never able to complete the short incantation, as a bright blue sphere engulfed the area where the street fight had taken place. What's worse, Lux couldn't move.

She was frozen, only able to move her eyes and mouth.

"Alright, it worked this time!" The young man cheered with a cocky grin on his face. "'Bout time I get out of that loop, any more new timelines and I would have lost it."

He strode towards Lux confidently, his sword now resting on his shoulder.

"Well, Blondie? I'm sure you have questions. Fire away."

"How were you able-"

"This little baby right here." The young man cut Lux off before she could finish her sentence as he patted the device hanging from his lower back. Obviously he had been asked this question before. "I call her the 'Z-drive'. Saved my life more times than once."

Lux rolled her eyes. "You sound really sure of yourself."

The young man smirked. "And you aren't? I heard what you said to those men. You kinda have a loud mouth there. Couldn't hear any of their words, but I clearly heard yours." Then, he laughed.

"Yeah, well… so…" Lux pouted "I was excited for a fight."

"Calm down, Blondie. It was just a joke. Anymore questions?"

"Where did this field come from? And what is it? I've never heard or seen anything like it." Lux's curiosity betrayed her, showing she was slightly in awe at this new magic.

"I made it. Well, not _me_ me, but another me. It's really hard to explain. For some reason another one of me could invent this device, but I can't. Weird. Anyways, I call it parallel convergence. Definitely useful when no one is expecting it. At least, not from this timeline."

"'This timeline'? What do you mean?"

"Um…" the young man rubbed his head in embarrassment. "That's even harder to explain. Especially in a limited conversation like this. I'm sure someone is on their way to find out what all the noise was about. And with you obviously not being from Zaun and me being the equivalent of a nobody, I'd say we split before we both find ourselves on the wrong side of a jail cell."

As if on cue, a loud bang could be heard. Something had either been knocked over or slammed open. An aggressive "This way!" was heard echoing down the walls of the alleyway.

Lux moved her eyes from side to side, trying to think of other options. She didn't know if she could trust this guy, but he seemed to know what he was doing. She could just trap him here, leave him for whoever was coming and escape, but that would take too long and lead to Lux being chased. This street boy seemed to know what was coming anyways. She didn't want to get caught in another one of those fields.

With a sigh, she relented. "Alright, fine. We'll do it your way."

"That's what I like to hear." The young man snapped his fingers with a grin on his face. The field dissipated and Lux regained control of her body. Immediately, the young man broke out into sprint. "Better keep up!"

Lux quickly followed. Staying close behind him, the duo went through several twists and turns until they came to a dead end.

There was no way to escape.

"Well great job, genius," Lux chastised. "We're stuck and I can hear them getting closer!"

The street boy's trademark cocky smirk appeared on his face again. "Don't worry, this all part of the plan."

Before Lux could say anything else, the mohawked young man moved a piece of wood laying against the wall to reveal a small hole. It was just barely big enough for either Lux or the street boy to squeeze through.

He gestured towards the hole. "Ladies first."

Without a second thought, Lux jumped through the hole and went down what seemed like a slide of trash and refuse. Following closely behind was the young man, who had hid the entrance to his getaway once again.

Moving faster and faster, Lux eventually exited the grimy slide into a pool of polluted water. Immediately, she sprung to the surface, gasping for air and trying to wipe off all the grime that had clung to her face.

"Ew… sewage? Better than prison I guess…"

A few seconds later, she heard a splash behind her and turned to see the street boy come out of the same chute. He sprung out of the water with a jubilant "Woo-hoo!"

"Alright, another one of Zaun's police patrols evaded!" He cheered and laughed.

Lux, though now covered in sewage, couldn't help but smile. She had to admit, his optimism was contagious. She hid a laugh behind her hand.

They both swam to the cobblestoned pathway lining the river of sewer water. Sitting against the wall, they caught their breaths, both sharing a tired smile. For a few moments, silence ensued.

The young man was the one to break it.

"By the way, with all of those friendly encounters up there," he said sarcastically "and since you might be sticking with me for a while, might as well know your name. Blondie can get really old, really fast after all."

Both of them chuckled.

"It's… Layna," Lux lied. Of course, she wanted to be friendly and tell the stranger her true name. After all, he had saved her. But she didn't know just yet if she could trust him. All her years of training had taught her to always be cautious; never reveal who you are in enemy territory. "And your name?"

The young man regarded her for a minute, trying to figure out if she was lying or not. He seemed to have bought it, as he raised his hand towards Lux.

"Layna, huh? Got it. My name's Ekko." The two shook hands. "Welcome to Zaun."

* * *

 **A/N: After a little deliberation, I have updated this story to where the original chapter 1 has been completely wiped off the board. Mainly because I think the story will flow better with this as the starting chapter. So... yeah... K, bye!**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	3. Chapter 2: The Why

**Chapter 2: The Why**

"I hate to admit it, but we're lost."

Ekko and Lux – Layna – were walking through the sewers trying to find their way out. So far, no luck. Ekko seemed at ease, relaxed even, walking with his hands behind his head. It didn't seem he had a care in the world. And maybe he didn't.

"What happened to 'I know Zaun like the back off my hand'," joked Lux. She had been staying optimistic most of the journey through the tunnels. That was how she was, always finding light in even the darkest of situations. Right now, she was balancing herself on the curb of the cobble stoned pathway they walked on.

A smile highlighted her face, never seeming to go away.

"Yeah, the city. These are the sewers. If you haven't noticed there is a difference." Ekko didn't miss a beat as he countered Lux's point good-naturedly. A smirk came to his face as he sat down against the wall of the sewers. "Let's take a break, all of this walking is killing my feet."

"Ditto. So, do you have any idea where we are?" Lux questioned light heartedly as she joined Ekko.

"Does 'under Zaun' count?"

Lux chuckled, while shaking her head.

"Then, not really," Ekko admitted. "Hope you don't have anywhere to be, because we're going to be in here for a while."

"I do need to be somewhere, but I'm not necessarily short on time." Lux thought back to her mission. Somebody in Zaun was planning on starting a war with Piltover, or so the reports had said. Lux had been sent to find out who and, if possible, stop them from achieving their plan. That was easier said than done, especially since they were many characters in Zaun who would jump at the chance to go to war with Piltover. But those who had the money and power to do so, well that narrowed the selection down, if only by a little bit.

Lux sighed as she thought through the immense list of names given to her by her commanding officers. "And I can't complain if I get a break. Even if it is in the sewers. What about you? Anyone else need to be rescued by the 'man who knows everything'?"

A laugh echoed through the sewers. "As far as I know, no. My boys can handle themselves just fine. Usually."

"'Boys'? You have kids?"

A small patch of red came to Ekko's face as he immediately reacted to what Lux had said.

"No! Definitely not! They're my friends. I just call them my 'boys' because I feel like I'm the one cleaning up their messes. If they were my kids, they wouldn't be beggars. And they wouldn't be living like this." Ekko sighed as he placed his chin on his arms, which now rested on his knees. "Don't get me wrong, I love Zaun. It's just… life can be unfair."

Lux's smile faltered. She never was really good at dealing with people who felt sad. She never had a chance to learn. Being taken away at a young age to forcibly join the military and only learning how to act like a proper lady in Demacia made it hard for her to practice comforting others. However, she was no stranger to sadness, she had her own skeletons in the closet.

Not knowing what to do, Lux stretched her hand out to Ekko's shoulder. It was a small comfort, but helped nonetheless. Ekko turned towards Lux, whose bright smile had returned. The young time bender couldn't help but smile himself.

"Even though I've known you for only a few hours, I believe if anyone can change Zaun for the better, it's you. I always forget that even in places with bad reputations like this, there are still good people here. Like you. Small beacons of light in the overwhelming darkness. So, don't be so down in the dumps, okay?"

Ekko chuckled. "Hah hah, I get it. We're in the sewers. Ending with a pun, huh? Not cheesy at all."

Lux giggled. "Sure it was cheesy, but it worked didn't it."

"Maybe a little, I'll give you that much."

"Hmm, I heard something. Not sewage… Or rats!"

A sudden voice from around the corner of the sewer was heard. Both Ekko and Lux jumped to their feet. Ekko reached for his sword that hung from his back and Lux brandished her baton.

"So what could it be?! We'll find out momentarily!" The voice let out a sinister chuckle and sounded like someone who was constantly knifing.

What turned the corner of the cobble stoned path caught Ekko and Lux off-guard. Standing, like a human, was a rat-like creature. A crossbow with green-tipped bolts were pointed at the sewage intruders. The rat didn't look very happy.

"Humans?! In my sewers?! How dare you enter the domain of Twitch, the Sewer King?!" A bolt fired from his crossbow, going far to the right of the two intruders and ricocheting off of the wall opposite of them.

"Curses! Why must aiming be so hard?! Nrgh! I'll make you pin cushions, I swear it! I'll let my poison eat at your soul! I'll… I'll…!"

Twitch halted his rant for a minute and studied the two humans in front of him. Particularly the one with the white mohawk. The Plague Rat rushed up to the human, who took a cautious step back. Sniffing the surprised young man, Twitch recognized something. He continued to sniff and prod Ekko.

"Hm… Yes, the smell is right… The skin texture? Matching… Hm… Yes, this has to be him! This has to be Caretaker!"

Twitch jumped back in front of the two humans, looking at Ekko with admiration.

"Care-what? Um, I'm sorry rat-thing, but I'm not your caretaker."

"Oh, but you have to be!" Twitch pouted. "Same face, matching skin texture, smells of Zaun garbage."

Lux chuckled at the last part, but hid her mouth behind her hand when Ekko stared back at her, annoyed.

"Okay, what do you mean by 'Caretaker'?" His attention returned to the odd bipedal rodent.

"That's exactly what I mean! Caretaker! You were the one who took care of Twitch when I was before-Twitch! When I still walked on all fours like my inferior brethren."

"Took care of you? Wait a minute…" Ekko brought his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment. It was years ago, but Ekko could vaguely remember a pet of his. Realizing who Twitch was, a surprised look came to his face. "Mr. Tails? Is that you?"

"Yes, yes! Mr. Tails! But I am Twitch now, but was Mr. Tails!"

"And how did you end up like… this?"

"Well, when I was lost, I came to the sewers – my home. There, I became even more lost and ended up underneath the lab of a Zaun scientist. A few deposited chemicals here, some poisoned, moldy cheese there and boom! Twitch was born!" Twitch yelled excitedly, throwing his hands up in dramatic fashion.

"So, you… were transformed into this? By the wastes from one of those experimental disasters? And you're okay with this?" Ekko's fists tightened. Lux noticed, seeing that his easy-going personality was beginning to melt away. The Sewer King didn't seem to notice anything different, he was too excited.

"Yes, Caretaker! It all turned out for the best, hm? So tell me, why are you here, Caretaker? Could it be to pay me a visit?!"

"Visit you…?" Ekko said in mock disbelief. "You think I'd ever actually come-"

"Without bringing one of his friends, he means to say."

Lux cut off Ekko and finished his sentence before he could say anything else. He looked at her with a mixture of emotions on his face. As if he would be as likely to say "thank you" as he would be to say "shut up". She nodded to him, hoping he'd get the hint to calm down. If Twitch lived here, then he might know a way out of the sewers.

Surprisingly, Ekko backed off. Letting Lux take care of the talking from here, he turned his back to the two.

"Is Caretaker mad?" Twitch questioned without a hint of knowing what was going to be said.

"No, no. He's just a little tired from trying to find you all day, that's all." Lux smiled innocently as she lied to the rat. "We were actually hoping you could show us a way out of here. He's not really in the mood to talk."

Twitch looked behind Lux to glimpse at Ekko.

"Hm… he does look a little under the weather. The sewer is not for everyone, I'm afraid. Come, Caretaker and friend. I will show you the way out of here."

With that, Twitch disappeared around the corner of the sewer. Lux sighed in relief, then turned to Ekko. He looked disappointed, but at what, Lux couldn't tell. The young woman came up behind him.

"Ekko, are you alright?"

Ekko shook his head slowly. "Of course not, Layna." He let out a deep breath.

"You looked like you were about to explode," Lux chuckled nervously. "Why?"

The street boy turned to Lux, and regarded her with a pained expression. He made to open his mouth, but closed it immediately as Twitch called to them.

"Caretaker! Friend! Let's go! It's almost night! That's when the sewers get even more dangerous. So we must make haste!"

Both Ekko and Lux looked at each other. Sighing, Ekko began to follow Twitch.

"We'll talk when we get back to my hideout," he said over his shoulder to Lux. Without even bothering to wait for the Demacian, he continued around the corner of the sewer. Not wanting to become lost again, Lux hastily did the same.

* * *

After another hour in the sewers, the trio made it to one of the very few hatches that led to the streets of Zaun. Reluctantly, Twitch bid farewell to Ekko and Lux. As they climbed up the ladder to the city, they could see Twitch waving at them until they closed the sewer hatch.

By that time, night had fallen over the city. Not much else looked different, thanks to the lack of sun during the daytime. It was only slightly dimmer and the street lights had come on. The perpetual darkness seemed terrible to Lux. Ekko just considered it another part of his daily life, not paying attention to the lack of light in the slightest.

They began to make their way to Ekko's hideout, Ekko now knowing where he was. Lux thought about making a sarcastic remark, but thought better of it. Ever since the street boy had seen Twitch, he had been in a less than cheery mood. So the duo stayed silent.

Half-way to Ekko's hideout, the street boy came to a sudden halt. An alleyway was to his right, and he looked down it. Lux wondered what could have been down that way. Enemies? A trap?

Lux readied herself for whatever was to come, having her baton in hand. But Ekko grabbed her wrist gently, having seen the movement out of the corner of his eyes.

He faced her.

"It's not a trap, you're not in trouble. It's just… We're taking a small detour. Come on." Ekko nodded in the direction of the alleyway. He walked slowly down the path instead of running, as if he was walking into an ambush and he knew it. Worse yet, he seemed to accept it.

Reluctantly, Lux followed him. He hadn't betrayed her thus far, so why would he now? He could have easily had Twitch help him, and he knew the city better than her. At any moment he could have turned on her. But he didn't, so she trailed behind him.

Eventually, after a few more turns and passing under an archway into what looked like an abandon concrete building, the duo came to what looked a shrine. Candles lit a mural that covered a large portion of the wall the shrine was against. Several pictures of young boys made up the mural, all of them smiling and some of them fading away. Some had shaggy hair, others no hair. Some faces were covered by other faces. And some looked like they had just been painted on the wall. But all of them had one overarching theme.

They all wore some sort of goggles. Those goggles looked familiar, but Lux couldn't immediately place where she had seen them, even though she knew it had been recently.

And that's when Lux made the connection.

She knew those goggles were familiar, she knew she had just seen them. They matched the pair Ekko wore around his neck. Ekko had also mentioned 'his boys' earlier. With the goggles, Ekko's mentioning, and his now depressed look, Lux concluded that not all of his friends were still living.

She bowed her head down in reverend silence. Even though she didn't know these boys, even though she hadn't known Ekko for long, she felt like paying her respects was the right thing to do.

A few more minutes of silent reverence passed before Ekko spoke up.

"So Layna," he began with a croak in his voice. Lux, out of the corner of her eye saw him wipe some tears away with the palm of his hand. "You want to know why I acted the way I did towards Twitch? Why I felt… angry?"

Lux nodded solemnly.

Ekko pointed to the mural. "It's because of them. They had all lived short lives, brilliant lives. All of them were lights in the darkness, just like you say I am. And yet they all died too soon. Even with my abilities, I couldn't help them. I was too late. Every. Single. Time. They died cold, pointless deaths because I wasn't quick enough. Because I wasn't strong enough.

"But there's another reason for their deaths. And that reason plagues Zaun to no end, walking the streets without any repercussions. Several of my friends were taken for illegal scientific experiments. The kind of experiments where they would end up dead, or worse. That's what gives Zaun the reputation it has. And it's why I want to change everything so badly! To save the rest of my friends, to show the world that Zaun is equal to Piltover in every way!"

A wave of silence fell over the shrine. Ekko collapsed to his knees, shadows covering his face from Lux's view. He struck the ground with his fist. Blood began to slowly pour from his now open knuckles. But it didn't seem like Ekko cared.

"That is why I was so mad at Twitch earlier. He just accepted that the experiments were a necessary evil. A faster, less safe way for Zaun to make progress. Many in this city are like him. They don't care. As long as some sort of scientific breakthrough is made, as long as new technology is ushered onto the streets each day, they don't care. And it's because they don't care that Zaun is what it is. It's why my friends are dead."

Ekko's shoulders shook uncontrollably. His emotions had gotten the better of him, though he stilled tried to control them. Trying to sniff back unshed tears, they still fell down his face. His throat tightened uncontrollably, making it harder to talk.

Lux took pity on the young man. Still not knowing what exactly to do, she figured words wouldn't help. But actions might.

She walked over to Ekko and knelt by his side. Her arm wrapped around Ekko's shoulder. Ekko let his head fall to the side, landing gently on Lux's shoulder. Normally, he wouldn't accept such comfort from anyone, let alone someone he just met. But now, after seeing Twitch, after being reminded of his dead friends and how he had failed them, he needed comfort more than anything.

So, they sat there for what seemed like hours in an understood, mutual silence.

* * *

 **A/N: The whole Mr. Tails thing with Twitch actually is lore friendly. Well, maybe he isn't Mr. Tails per se, but it's still out there. A secret taunt between Ekko and Twitch says that Ekko lost a pet rat named Mr. Tails. So, Twitch could be Mr. Tails, or it could just be a joke. I choose to go with both.**

 **As well, another secret taunt between them says, "You what's wrong with Zaun" or something like that. And that's why Ekko doesn't like him, but Twitch seems to be unaware of it (as he has no comment for it). It was also what inspired this chapters. So thanks for the inspiration, Rito!**

 **Until next time y'all, peace!**

 **nickdaman6**


	4. Chapter 3: How to Fix Things

**Chapter 3: How to Fix Things**

By the time Ekko and Lux had managed to return to Ekko's home, evening had turned into the early morning. They walked in silence the entire way. Ekko had calmed down slightly after what happened at the shrine, but he had no desire to talk and only wished to return home. Lux stared at her feet, still unsure of what to say. Though just being there seemed to have helped the distressed young man.

He wasn't alone. And that was sometimes enough.

The pair climbed up the stairs of a slightly decrepit apartment building. Or mostly decrepit, but still a lot better than the conditions of other buildings on the same street. Lux assumed they must have been in the over-populated slums of Zaun.

After making their way to the top floor of the building, Ekko led Lux down the single hallway. Opening the door at the very end of the hall, the pair entered Ekko's home. Lux entered first. Her eyes widened in surprise and she had to stifle a gasp.

Ekko's apartment looked nothing like she expected.

Sparsely furnished, the main room looked nice compared to what Lux had seen of Zaun. Clean, wooden floor and walling made the place feel welcoming. A vast array of pipes ran across one of the walls, all coming to several different valves and levers with purposes Lux could only guess. The sole piece of furniture in the room was a desk and chair set that looked like it had been turned into a work bench. Finally, there was a window that spanned one side of the room. Covered by red curtains now, Lux bet that it had a grand view.

Ekko silently walked past her as she examined the room.

"This way," he spoke emotionlessly.

Lux followed the young Zaunite silently as he led her down a side hall. From there, they came to two rooms on both sides of the short hallway. Ekko opened the door to the right to reveal a modest bedroom with only a bed and a nightstand.

Still, it seemed nice in a homey, simple sort of way. In her time as a covert operative, she had been in worse conditions. Noxian barracks shared with sweaty and bloody soldiers; Bilgewater brothels where it smelt like seduction, sin, and scurvy; she's been to them all. So she couldn't complain about the change of pace.

"You can sleep here tonight," Ekko gestured to the bed.

"Where will you sleep?" Lux asked.

"Nowhere, I'll probably be up all night making calibrations to my Z-drive. Can't have it mess up."

The young Zaunite made to walk out of the room, but looked over his shoulder to see Lux start standing up. Politeness, no doubt. But Ekko did mean what he said. So, before he left, he gave the young woman some assurance, stopping her before she spoke.

"Don't worry, my workbench chair is as comfy as any bed to me. Just get some rest. 'Night." He spoken evenly, but not unkindly and waved his hand over his shoulder.

"Goodnight," Lux replied quietly as she sat back down on the bed. She let out a sigh.

Once the door was closed, only a faint light bulb rid the room of darkness. Nothing gave the room much character. It seemed Ekko poured all of his resources into his experiment, the Z-drive. No doubt some of those funds were from ill-gotten gains. But in a city like this, Lux assumed that was sometime the only way to make a living.

Again, she stood up. Untying her tattered, still damp robe, Lux let it drop to the ground unceremoniously. Underneath she wore navy and brown, light traveling clothes and boots. Wrapped around her neck was a gray cowl with purple designs along its edges. At the moment the hood was down.

She removed the belt that came across her torso with an assortment of vials first. Her tome and satchel that hung from her waist came off next. Finally, she took off her cowl and boots, placing her few belongings – including her baton – at the foot of Ekko's bed. Aside from the robe that is, which she hung from the bed post to let it dry out.

It wouldn't. But have to stay positive though, right?

Laying back down on the bed, Lux closed her eyes. Sleep didn't come easily, no matter how tired she felt. Her overactive mind kept her up as she planned out her mission. This always happened, but it had saved her life more than once. Having objectives, know-how and the right information could only go so far. Planning one's own tactics is essential, so Lux didn't mind losing sleep over it. If it meant she succeeded anyways.

Eventually, her eyes started to become heavy. She finally began drifting off to sleep. Sweet sleep.

BANG!

"Ow!" A string of curses followed the sudden noise.

Lux instantly sat up from her lying position. Now awake, she got out of bed to see what was going on. No doubt something had happened to Ekko. That was his voice after all. Didn't seem like Lux would be going to sleep anytime soon, so she thought she might as well make sure he was okay.

Grabbing her baton from the foot of her bed – just on the off chance she needed it – the Lady of Luminosity walked out of her borrowed room. Creeping down the hallway, she could see a blue glow emanating from the main room of the apartment. It pulsed slightly, then disappeared completely.

Another string of curses could be heard.

"Dammit! I don't need this right now, just let me fix you!"

More yelling came from Ekko as Lux peeked around the corner at the end of the hallway. From what she saw, Ekko had both of his hands trying to pry something open on his Z-drive. Once he finally had it open, he reached for a tool on his desk. Just out of his reach, he stretched to try and get some sort of grip on it. As he just reached it, the part of the Z-drive that he was holding open shut. It snapped his fingers, causing him to pull his hand away quickly.

"Agh! You stupid hunk of junk! Just cut me a break!"

Putting his face in his hands, he turned around in his work chair. He sighed heavily. A quiet whimper came from him. He brought his arm across his face to stop any tears from escaping his eyes.

"Dammit," he mumbled. As he lifted his head up, he noticed Lux for the first time. "Oh, Layna. Sorry, I woke you up didn't I?" He brought his hand through his hair, the bristle of his mohawk returning to its place right after his fingers passed through it.

"Kind of, but I was having trouble sleeping anyways. So no worries." Lux said with an almost-smile, trying to alleviate some of the remaining sadness Ekko felt.

Lux made her way to Ekko's workbench. Staring at the strange device that Lux knew next to nothing about, she continued to try and rid the Zaunite of some of his melancholy.

"Need help with your… invention?" She questioned.

Ekko turned his head back to the Z-drive.

"Yeah, actually." Pointing towards one of the drive's ends, Ekko grabbed for a tool that was completely unfamiliar to Lux. He clicked it experimentally, sending a current of electricity between two small prongs. "Just hold this end open. It can be a little testy, so be careful."

With that, Lux grabbed the opening Ekko pointed to. Struggling, she held up the metal panel. Examining the many criss-crossing wires, Ekko went silently to work fixing whatever problem plagued his device. To the Demacian's relief, the young man made his repairs quickly. A nod in her direction told Lux that he was done. Gratefully, she released her grip on the device, letting the metal panel clasp shut.

A solid thum came from the device. It now glowed a blue light. But this time, the light remained steady. Gears and electricity moved throughout the device at incredible speeds.

With a satisfied sigh, Ekko turned a dial on his right hand glove. This caused the Z-drive to shut off completely. And for the first time since they visited the shrine, Ekko had the faint hint of a smile on his face.

"Finally. Now she should run perfectly." His attention turned to Lux. "Thanks for the help… and for earlier."

"Of course, my pleasure." Lux smiled happily now and twirled her baton between her fingers. Changing the subject as to help Ekko stay away from certain memories, Lux asked, "So what does this thing do?"

"This? Basically it allows me to go back in time to a point I choose."

Ekko said it so matter-of-factly, like reversing time was a normal, everyday occurrence. Which for him, it actually was. Lux on the other hand stared at the device in awe. Never had she heard of something that could transport someone back in time.

"No way! So is that how you knew everything that was going to happen earlier?" Lux spoke excitedly now. And why wouldn't she be? She had just met someone who invented a way to go back in time. With her curious nature, it was no surprise she would have a lot of questions. "Do you do this often? Does it have any side-effects? Hm… you look normal. So I guess not. How many times do you usually have to use it? How does it work? How did you make it? Does anyone else know how to do this? How-"

"Whoa, whoa. Slow your horses, Layna," Ekko said with a resemblance of a smile. Standing up from his chair, the young man walked over and leaned against the window sill. "I'll start with what happened today, sound good?"

Lux nodded her head eagerly, taking the seat Ekko had just vacated.

"So, today. As soon as I saw you enter the alleyway, I knew you'd be in trouble. You're disguise was good, but a little too good. Knew you'd draw the attention of some bad folks."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I thought I fit in pretty well with the garbage," Lux huffed, crossing her arms. This earned a small chuckle from Ekko, lessening the gloomy atmosphere even more.

"Thanks to our trip to the sewers, you definitely smell like garbage."

"So do you!"

Ekko sniffed his armpit, then recoiled back with a disgusted look on his face. Both of them laughed at his expression.

"Fair point. Anyway, today. Sticking out like a sore thumb, attracting the wrong kind of attention…" Ekko listed off the points with his fingers. "Right, saw what was going to happen. So I activated the Z-drive by starting its engine, so to speak." The young Zaunite pulled at a handle of the Z-drive enough to make it hum gently, but not completely start. "Then, once everything played out and you well… died, I pressed this button on my right hand glove." A quick point with his index finger indicated where it was.

Lux wasn't paying attention to that though. Her attention was still focused on the word 'died'.

"Died? I died?" She questioned. Of course, she had been in life and death situations before. Being in the Demacian military that tended to happen. But never had she died, let alone heard that she _had died_.

"In a different timeline, yes. But after going back and forth a few times, I was able to find a period of time where you lived."

She shook off her slight shock, coming back to her conversation with Ekko. "How many was 'a few times'?"

"Let's see… including the times you tried to trap me in one of your light-snare thingies, and the times when I accidently hit you in the face with that knife instead of the baddie that held you hostage – sorry about that by the way, you will not believe how hard it is to throw those things."

Lux crossed her arms and arched her eyebrow incredulously.

"Really, I'm sorry! Point is, you're alive now and the total amount of times I went back to save you was around… fifty?"

"Fifty?!"

Ekko leaned back against the window pane with a satisfied smirk. "Give or take a few."

"Wow. That must have been exhausting."

"But not time consuming, for you anyway. Took a while for me."

"And you went back that many times… to save me?" Lux now had a coy smile on her face. Not to mention her cheeks were tinged a slight shade of red.

Ekko rubbed the back of his head and he looked away from Lux. It wouldn't be wrong to say that his face had turned a shade redder as well. "Well, I mean… Yeah, I couldn't abandon a damsel in distress, you know?"

A smirk replaced Lux's smile and she crossed her arms. "I'm hardly a damsel in distress. They just caught me off-guard. But nevertheless," Lux stood from where she sat and made to exit the room "thank you, for all you did, Ekko. I mean it."

"No problem. And um… thanks for what you did earlier. I don't know what happened but, just thanks for being there. It helped." Again, Ekko was rubbing the back of his head.

Lux giggled. "Of course, Ekko. It's what friends do. Now, I'm gonna try and get some sleep. It'd be nice if I could close my eyes before you yell a string of curses like a Bilgewater buccaneer."

Ekko chuckled and stood up from his position by the window, sitting down in his chair again.

"Fair enough. 'Night, Blondie."

Lux smiled at the use of her nickname.

"Goodnight, Mohawk."

A stifled chuckle came from Ekko. And Lux let out another giggle.

"Mohawk? Not too bad, works I guess."

"That it does." Both had smiles now, though Ekko's was smaller. It only got bigger as Lux's smile had always been contagious.

The Zaunite's foul mood being mostly alleviated, Lux left the room. As she walked down the hallway, her smile disappeared, being replaced by a frown. She opened the door to her borrowed room and sat on Ekko's bed. For a few minutes, she just sat there in the darkness and silence.

Then, she picked up her tome, tore out a blank page, and grabbed a pen from her satchel. Scribbling furiously on the piece of parchment, Lux wrote what might be the last thing Ekko ever saw of her. Once she was finished, she did a quick once-over of the letter. Satisfied, she folded it and laid it on the nightstand next to her bed.

Laying down to try and get a couple hours of sleep, Lux smiled for a fleeting instance. A thought came into her mind.

'At least we knew each other, even if it was for just a short time.'

 **A/N: Sorry I haven't updated as quickly. Been out of the country for the past month. Anyways, updates should be posted normally again sometime next week. That also means I'm out of touch with LoL… Ugh… Looking forward to playing that again!**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	5. Chapter 4: The Gang

**Chapter 4: The Gang's All Here**

The creaking of floor boards jarred Ekko from his uncomfortable sleeping position on his workbench chair. A door opening and closing caused him to just barely open his eyes; just enough to see the silhouette of a figure exiting his house. Leaving with a faint whisper of, "Goodbye, Ekko."

And then, he fell back asleep, not paying any more attention to what had just happened. Before drifting back into his dreamless snooze, he mumbled, "I'll take care of it… tomorrow…" Then, his head slouched forward and he continued sleeping with a loud snore.

It wasn't until later that Ekko's head shot up and he realized what had happened. Though it happened a few hours ago, it felt like just a short amount of time had passed since he saw that shadowed silhouette leave. No doubt it was Layna. That's the only person it could have been.

Slowly, still groggy from waking up, Ekko walked to his room. Just to confirm his suspicions. With a steady creak, he opened the door to an empty room and nicely made bed. At least she was decent enough to make it, even if she didn't wait to say goodbye to Ekko. He walked to the bed and fell face first onto it. Sighing into his pillow, Ekko turned his head to the night stand next to his bed and switched the lamp on. It wasn't until the lamp's dim light had flickered into existence that Ekko saw a piece of folded up paper.

He picked it up and unfolded it to reveal what looked to be a letter. A goodbye letter.

 _Ekko,_

 _I know our time was short and I had to leave suddenly, but I have something I must attend to as soon as possible. I'm sorry. It's important._

 _Thank you for everything yesterday, even if you did trap me and push me down a sewage drain into a river of sludge. I'll never get that smell out of my clothes…_

Ekko chuckled.

 _But either way, I'm glad I met you. I hope that whatever happens, you can change Zaun for the better. If anyone can do it, I know it's you. Maybe one day, when that happens and I'm not doing what I'm doing, we'll see each other again. And don't make saving girls who know nothing about the streets of Zaun then shoving them into liquid garbage an everyday thing. I wouldn't feel special otherwise!_

 _I wish you luck in whatever you do, Ekko. Stay safe._

 _And this isn't goodbye, it's until next time,_

 _Layna, the Alleygirl of Zaun_

After giving the letter one more, quick read through, Ekko laid it back on his nightstand. Turning off the lamp, he rolled on to his back and closed his eyes. In the early morning darkness no one else could see it, but a fleeting smile tugged at Ekko's lips before he fell asleep.

* * *

 _Knock, knock, knock._

"Hey, Ekko!"

Creaking his eyes open, the young man in question turned to the door of his bedroom. Raising his head, the door burst open before he could even get out of bed. In came a boy who looked to be Ekko's age. Atop his shaggy dirty blonde hair was a pair of goggles similar to Ekko's. His shirt was stitched together in so many places that most people would deem it unwearable, while he wore unslung overalls that ended at a pair of grime-encrusted boots.

"There you are, Ekko. We've been looking everywhere for ya!" The intruder leaned against the frame of the doorway. "Thought ya may have finally left us to run off with some girl."

Ekko chuckled as he sat up in his bed. "No, Scrafty, just decided to sleep in late. Spent last night working on the Z-drive again."

"Oh ho, got into a fight yesterday, then?"

"That's not even half of it, but I'll tell you the rest later. So, why are you here?"

Scrafty inspected his nails with feigned interest. "Can't a friend come into his friend's house uninvited to just say 'hey'?"

"Scrafty, I've known you for what, six-"

"Seven."

"- seven years. Not once have you ever come to my place to just check up on me. Wouldn't suit you there, buddy. Now, what's up? Or actually, I'm gonna cut to the chase here, what do you want?"

"Alright, now that's where I draw the line. Ya think I want something? Doesn't our friendship mean anything to ya, Ekko? I'm hurt." Scrafty put on a dramatically tragic display in mock pain. To top it off, he put on a fake, upper-class Zaunite accent. "You wound me with your words, street rat! And for that you shall be punished most severely! Urngh! There, I throw my glove at you. What say you to that?"

"I say go get bent by a Noxian corner prostitute." Now out of bed, Ekko was stretching to rid his body of any lingering sleepiness. "I hear they're particularly diseased this year. Especially the one's down Randy Alleyway. Hey, they're cheap too."

"Cheap? Well then, I shall procure the cheapest money can buy! After all, what better way to buy something if not spending as little as possible for something worth so much more? I ask you, what better way?!" Scrafty continued with the charade, much to Ekko's annoyance now.

"Okay, Scrafty. I get it. You have a freaky deaky love for cheap street girls, but if you don't want anything, what's going on?"

"Well, since ya asked _so_ politely, Lynx is getting into trouble with the Trifecta Trinkets… again."

Ekko sighed loudly and made his way to leave. "Of course he is, there doesn't go one day where he doesn't mess with those furry midgets. Doesn't he understand he'll get his ass handed to him every time?"

"Well they are yordles, I mean he should be able to take three of them, right?"

"Scrafty, he's only about a foot, maybe a foot-and-a-quarter taller than them."

The other young man shrugged. "Hey, never said it would be easy for him."

"True, true," Ekko mused as he made his way out of the bedroom door. Looking over his shoulder, he said with a smirk, "By the way, you weren't that far off when you said everyone thought I ran off with a girl."

This caught Scrafty by surprise, who turned to Ekko with wide eyes and a devilish grin on his face.

"What? Ekko, you dog! You didn't-"

"Round up the boys, Scrafty. I'll tell you guys then, deal? Now, I gotta go solve Lynx's little rat problem. Maybe knock some sense into him while I'm at it."

And with that, Ekko ran out of his apartment to save the day yet again. Damn, he might as well be a vigilante.

* * *

 _Whack!_

"Ouch!" Lynx yelled as he was thrown into a pile of garbage, landing hard on his rear. Three echoing snickers followed as the street boy wiped the remaining refuse off of his face.

"That's why ya never bite more than ya can chew, kid," one of the three yordles spoke with a cocky smile. "After all, it's three versus one. What could ya hope to accomplish with those odds, mate?"

Lynx looked behind the three yordles, staring at the young girl who had been cornered by the furry alley gang. "Trying to help a friend…" Lynx admitted through a busted lip. "We don't have to take your abuse, Ward."

Said yordle turned towards the young girl in question, who shied away from the glaring eyes the yellow-furred leader casted on her. "Oh, so we don't just have a hero, boys. We have a hero trying to save a damsel in distress. Well, since she's worth saving, why don't we have some fun with both of them? Sweeps, why don't ya bring her over to join her chivalrous knight in shining armor?"

A red-furred yordle with a pair of goggles eyed the girl with an evil grin. Cackling, he said, "With pleasure, boss." Not too gently, Sweeps grabbed the young girl by the wrist and plopped her next to the small, brown-haired boy. "Now then, who wants to take the first beating?"

"I don't think we should leave it up to 'em," spoke the third and final yordle. He had blue fur and one good eye, while the other was permanently shut due to a scar etched across his face.

"I agree, Scryer. That would just give one of the little twerps a chance to run. So, why don't you beat up the little girl and Sweeps and I take on Mr. Too-Big-For-His-Breeches over here? Fair?"

"Aye, boss!"

"Ya got it, Ward."

With that dispute settled, the three yordles turned back towards the pair of children; only to find that Lynx had already stepped in front of his frightened counter-part. Putting on a mask of bravery that was instantly shattered, he stood his ground as he was met with a swift knee to the gut, courtesy of Ward. Lynx doubled over instantly and the yordle gang leader was immediately on top of him.

"Hasn't anyone taught ya the most basic rule of Zaun, kid?" Ward wore a deadly, sinister and disturbingly pleasured smile on his face. It only grew wider as he heard the wailing of Lynx's little girly friend, who was now being restrained forcefully by Sweeps and Scryer.

"There are."

One punch to Lynx's gut.

"No such thing."

One punch to the arms protecting his face.

"As heroes!"

His arms now uselessly hanging at his side, Lynx's face was wide open to Ward's next strike. Before it could connect, however, it was caught in mid-air. The violent little creature was pulled up into the air by his arm. Immediately, the yordle started flailing, trying to hit whoever was manhandling him.

"Argh! Let go of me! Boys! Get whoever this is to put me down!"

Sweeps and Scryer stood completely still while slowly letting go of their prey. Eyes widened in fear, they backed away slowly before running down the alleyway. Seeing how his gang reacted, Ward didn't need to turn around to know who had a hold of him.

He gulped as he was slowly turned around to come face to face with Ekko, his glowing sword slung over his shoulder.

"Uh oh," was all Ward could manage.

With a cocky grin, Ekko shook his head in mock disapproval.

"Tch, tch. Ward, haven't I told you not to mess with any of my boys? Or do I need to hit you in the head a few times to jog your memory?" Ekko swung his sword into the cobbled street, causing it to stick up out of the ground. He brought his fist back, ready to make contact with the yordle's face.

Ward held up his hands to protect himself as best as he could from the incoming blow. "No! No, please! I didn't mean to! He just looked like a… uh…"

"Easy target?" Ekko stopped his punch mid swing. Instead, he threw the yordle hard on the ground and away from the children under the vigilante's protection. "Even if that's so, he's off-limits. You try that again and I swear it will be the last time you do so. And trust me, I'll know if you do," Ekko paused as he pulled his sword from the ground with a swift motion of his hand "I have eyes everywhere, street rat. Just like you. Now, run before I change my mind."

Ward didn't need any more encouragement. He ran quickly down the alleyway, following the rest of his gang and cursing under his breath all the way.

"What a loser. Your turn, Lynx." Turning towards the younger boy, Ekko's gaze softened as he saw the overall-wearing boy help the black-haired girl in rags up to her feet. A few quick words, some tears, and a joyful hug and one kiss on Lynx's cheek later, and the girl took off in the opposite direction of the Trifecta Trinkets.

Lynx, whose dumb smile had begun to wilt as he turned to face Ekko, rubbed his arm worriedly.

"I'm sorry, Ekko… I just saw them harassing Liz and I couldn't help but stop 'em. I'm really, really sorry…"

Ekko came up to the boy and patted him on the shoulder, showing everything was forgiven. "Don't be. They deserved whatever you had in mind. Next time just make sure you either have back-up, or grow another foot taller. Or two." Both alley boys laughed as the older of the two gave the younger one a playful noogie. "Now, let's get going. Everyone's getting together at the usual spot."

"Okay, Ekko. And thanks," Lynx said as he followed the white-haired young man. "For saving me and letting me off easy."

"Everyone gets a freebie, Lynx. Even you." Ekko sheathed his sword as they made their way out of the alley. "Besides, I'd be a hypocrite if I did anything to you for protecting a girl."

* * *

A rowdy group of boys ranging in age from ten to nineteen gathered on top of Ekko's apartment building. Murmurs and antics were spreading through the crowd like wild fire, causing the group to go completely nuts. It wasn't until Ekko and Lynx came through the door leading to the rooftop that all of them silenced. But only for a brief second.

A deafening cheer came from the boys as Lynx was welcomed back by his friends. Receiving several comments about his 'fight' against the Trifecta Trinkets. Word spread fast in the slums of Zaun.

"Lynx! You're not dead!"

"Heard you did it to save a girl? Was she cute?"

"Glad to have you're okay, just have us back you up next time, 'kay?"

"So Ekko saved you from them again, eh? When are you gonna learn, Lynx?"

Lynx accepted all of these comments with a blush tinting his face and a sheepish smile. He rejoined the crowd as Ekko made his way to the top of the enclosed doorway. Joining Scrafty, who was hanging his leg over the ledge of the doorway, his counterpart congratulated him.

"'Grats, Ekko. Guessing they didn't give ya too much trouble. And Lynx doesn't look too beaten up," Scrafty said with a smirk and nonchalant attitude.

"No trouble whatsoever. So, we got everyone here?" Ekko asked as he stood atop the highest point of the apartment complex. He looked down at his gang of street boys, smiling as he saw them rough housing with one another.

"Yup," Scrafty confirmed as he stood with Ekko. "Let's get this meeting started. Hey, everyone!" The sudden call for attention caused the boys to go silent. "We're about to get this meeting started, but before we do, there's something everyone should know!" Ekko looked on questioningly as Scrafty grabbed his leader's arm and held it high. "This coy, sneaky devil has a little something to tell ya!... But it'd be better if I told ya! Ekko's a one-woman-man now!"

The crowd of boys immediately erupted in laughter, cat calls and several yelling taunting, yet jesting, comments aimed at Ekko. Said young man rolled his eyes with a smirk and rubbed his head. He glared at Scrafty as he stepped forward to address his gang.

"You realize it wasn't like that, right?" Ekko said to Scrafty.

"Yet," Scrafty replied with a smirk.

Ignoring the comment, Ekko continued. "And you realize how much it's going to take to get them to forget about this, right?"

"Yup."

"Then you owe me big time," Ekko scoffed.

"Sure, Ekko. Sure. But I'd say that girl owes a little something-something before I do." Scrafty said jokingly.

Ekko rolled his eyes again and punched Scrafty in the shoulder before turning to start the meeting. "Seriously it wasn't like that."

"But… you wanted it to be."

The young Zaunite smiled knowingly and chuckled. "I'll admit she didn't look half-bad."

A smile came to Scrafty's face that matched Ekko's. "Knew it."

And without uttering another retort, Ekko finally began the meeting. But amidst all of his friends still focusing on giving Ekko grief for what Scrafty said, it was a rather difficult gathering to get under control.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the really late post guys, just haven't had time. That's all. No excuses, I've just been acclimatizing to normal life again and playing a lot of video games, that sort of thing. Hooked on Valkyria Chronicles right now.**

 **Anyway, I'll try to update more. By the way, please tell me y'all got the Trifecta Trinket reference!**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	6. Chapter 5: Revealed

**Chapter 5: Revealed**

Dark, smoggy clouds of toxins floated above the streets of Zaun's Hightown like a deadly fog. Rain began to sprinkle down from these toxic waste dumps that passed for clouds. Even though it only happened on rare occasions, this rain was toxic; undrinkable and deadly to what little plant life remained in Zaun. The poisonous raindrops were so polluted, they left small burn marks on skin and buildings during heavier showers. And no matter who someone was in Zaun, they were never safe from the harmful pollutants that hung in the dark sky.

What's worse, it made the job of spotting intruders harder for the watch guards atop one particular Zaun research facility. The overwhelming darkness caused by the clouds and rain, coupled with the fact that these guards had to wear protective gear all over their body, made it increasingly difficult as the night drug on. But still, they were hired for a purpose: to stop anyone from entering the facility. They were worth every penny, so there was no doubt that they wouldn't let anyone through without a fight.

Yet as one guard who fought against the sleep tugging at his eyes continued his patrol along the steel wall of the facility, he missed the cloaked figure jumping over the bannister.

Moving in a practiced form that she had perfected over the years, this lone Demacian spy made her way past these guards without a problem. After she jumped onto the ground below, she hugged the steel wall. Giving herself at the very least a smug smirk, she continued forward.

Timing the spotlights that moved sluggishly along the facility grounds, the young spy sprinted across the courtyard towards the lone research building. Making it to the structure without incident, she proceeded to look for an entrance. With their only being a single door into the building in line with the front gate of the facility, she made her way there, staying in the shadows the entire time.

Peeking her head around the corner of the building, Lux noticed two heavily armed men guarding the door. What she also noticed, and what she focused her attention on, was an array of lights shining on the walkway to the door. No doubt to allow the guards to see anyone and anything entering. But they made a huge mistake. Demacia's Lady of Luminosity was the one breaking in. The gears in her mind began turning at a gleeful tempo.

Once the door opened for a guard change – after what felt like hours, but in actuality only took minutes – Lux smirked as she dashed out into plain sight. Using her prowess over the power of light, and with a wave of her baton, she refracted the abundant amount of light rays around her to make her invisible to the naked eye. The new guards were none the wiser as she slipped past them and closely followed the other two guards. Like a chameleon stalking its prey.

After prowling the guards in the building's lit up corridors for some time, Lux made her way into a side hallway. A brief wave of nausea overcame the petite blonde. An after-effect of too much magic use and no break. Though only a minor annoyance, any longer and Lux could have had more severe symptoms of mana depletion. Even if she made it to the center of the research facility in one go, she would have been too fatigued to cast a basic spell. So short trips and breaks were a better solution, even if a little inconvenient.

Taking a deep breathe, Lux used the light around her to cloak herself once again and continued searching for the central laboratory. After several more treks and breathers throughout the building, Lux had finally found what she believed she was looking for. More like what she _knew_ she was looking for.

If a big red sign saying 'ONLY SPECIFIED PERSONNEL ALLOWED PAST THIS POINT' wasn't an indicator of something suspicious behind a seemingly unsuspicious door, then Lux could only assume that she was actually infiltrating an orphanage for puppies.

'Wouldn't that be a story to tell,' she thought with an inward giggle. 'Daring Luxanna Crownguard of the Demacian Military infiltrates and exposes the dastardly minds behind the world's most adorable pets.'

"Are all bad guys this dumb, or are they just cocky?" Lux spoke to herself sarcastically as she tried opening one of the double hinged doors. Twisting the knob proved to be fruitless, even as the young blonde jerked and pulled at it.

Sighing, she looked left and right, making sure no one was coming. Breaking out of her cover, Lux quickly focused a small ball of light the size of a bullet on the tip of her index finger. Gently she inserted the ball of light into the keyhole of the door knob's locking mechanism. A few seconds later, a small snap was heard and a tiny wisp of smoke floated from the keyhole. Lux turned the doorknob, receiving a satisfying click as the door opened.

"They're never prepared for me!" She cheered silently as she entered the room, making sure to close the door softly.

As quiet as a mouse, the light mage stepped silently into the dimly lit lab. What little she could make out were machines that made very little sense to her. Giant, metal rods over on one side of the room, scattered organs in jars on the other. She swore she could even see what appeared to be a flipper in a jar of thick liquid. What it was, she could only guess. A plaque on the jar had three simple letters written on it: _U_ , _R_ , and _F_. Lux had no idea what any of those letters meant. The words _Battlecast Project Eta (Codename: Fool): Failure_ were written below.

Interesting.

Eventually, Lux came to a table in the center of the room. A light, separate from the other lights of the room, beamed down brightly on the desk. Centered (in an almost prideful display) was a metallic arm, disconnected from any other body part. In the center of its palm was a dim, orange sphere.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lux noticed a few scraps of paper that had drawings on them laid out on one corner of the table. Upon closer inspection, she found out they were not just any drawings. Weapon and armor designs dotted the paper with dimensions and materials listed next to them. None of the designs looked like they could fit a normal human. Some even seemed to be the size of a human!

So who – or what – could they be for…?

 _Beep…_

The loud sound caught Lux's attention. Eyeing her surroundings, she looked to find the source of the sound.

 _…beep…_

Eventually her eyes came to the table. With the robotic arm. And its palm now pulsating a bright orange.

"Uh oh," Lux said lamely as she made to grab all the scrapes of paper she could, stuffing them into her satchel.

… _beep_

Hurriedly, the light mage brought her baton out and twirled it, using it to focus her magic energy around her. It created a barrier between her and the rest of the lab.

And just in time too.

Everything went up in a blaze of fire and smoke as Lux was thrown violently into a mess of science equipment behind her. Luckily for her, her shield took the brunt of the damage, but not before she blacked out as the rest of the laboratory fell down around her.

* * *

"…and that's basically what happened: I saved her, threw her into a river of sludge, met a hybrid humanoid-rat thing – who was our Mr. Tails by the way – and then she left later that night. So, for the thousandth damned time, nothing. Nothing happened."

Ekko had just finished summarizing the whole story for Scrafty, if only to get his partner in crime off of his back. No one believed his story. Well, it was more like no one _wanted_ to believe his story. Everyone in Ekko's gang thought he saved her like any dashing vigilante would, bedded her, then left her mysteriously. As if he had just been a good dream for the lost lady. Far from it, of course and quite the opposite in some parts. But they were boys armed with imagination and going through the experimental phases of puberty.

Ekko didn't want to go down that line of thought any longer.

The pair sat atop the rooftop of Ekko's apartment building in a light drizzle, watching the lights of Zaun flicker against the pure black sky of smog and darkness. It had only been a day since Ekko's little run-in with Layna. And he doubted he would ever see her again. As that conclusion came to his mind, he shrugged.

'Not the first time it's happened…' he thought bitterly to himself. Simultaneously, he shirked the depressing weight off of his mind, reigning himself back in on his conversation with Scrafty.

"So… ya at least slept in the same bed together, right?" Scrafty prodded Ekko experimentally, the latter giving the former an annoyed glare. "I mean, you seem like you had a thing for her – at least a puppy dog crush. And only one bed. That means I can also assume that ya tried something. At least, if I was in your shoes that's what I would do. Am I wrong?"

Silence fell between the two before Ekko continued the conversation with a simple, yet aggressive, "Shut up." This only fueled the fire of Scrafty's pestering, which Ekko half expected. The other half of him hoped his friend would laugh so hard that he would fall off the roof. A little harsh, but hey, anything to get Scrafty to shut his loud mouth about a single chance encounter with a girl.

Scrafty did laugh, just not as hard as Ekko had hoped. And instead of Scrafty being the one in danger of falling, it was Ekko, as his friend slapped him heartily on the back.

"I knew if from the beginning! You dog, Ekko!"

The young genius couldn't even count the number of times he'd been called that in the past day on his fingers.

"And after all of this, ya've hardly given any detail on her. None, whatsoever!"

"Well, that's because I know what guys like us would do with the mental image of almost _any_ girl in our mind," Ekko deadpanned, hoping to drop the conversation then and there.

Wishful thinking.

"She's worth a quick one? Oh, now ya have to at least give me some mental imagery! Come on, skin, hair… assets…?" At this point, Ekko's right hand man was begging like a dog for a piece of meat.

With a reserved sigh, Ekko came to an agreement. "Alright, I'll tell you some. But you have to drop this, got it?"

Nodding his head eagerly, Ekko now had Scrafty's full attention.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Ekko made to describe Layna in as good a way as possible to satisfy Scrafty but just enough to where she didn't seem like the fantasized girl most guys dreamt about. However, Ekko never had a chance to accomplish such a trying task. In the distance, near Zaun's Hightown district, an explosion went off. One that caused a brilliant orange blast big enough to see from the slums.

As the explosion calmed to nothingness, and without a second thought, Ekko made a b-line for the door that led off of the rooftop of his apartment building.

"Hey! Where ya going?!" Scrafty called from behind him, disappointed at being denied a mental showcase no doubt.

"Going to see what that explosion was all about, and probably get into some trouble along the way! See ya!" Ekko yelled over his shoulder.

"Don't think this lets ya off the hook, bud! We made a deal, and I will collect! Ya can count on that!"

Ekko chuckled as he made his way down the staircase that led him to the ground floor. "You guys are so sick," he grumbled to himself. But he had to admit, he might have done the same thing had any of his other friends been in his position.

* * *

Rubble covered the entirety of the property that had once been _his_ research facility. The main building had been reduced to near dust, save only a few hardier pieces of scientific equipment. All guards had been turned into ash due to the high intensity of the explosion; some of the intact body parts actually flew into the city proper, if reports were to be believed. Even the walls, yards away from the epicenter of the disaster, crumbled under the might of the explosion. What's more, the girl who caused it all was still alive and in one piece. And the Zaun law enforcement sirens could be heard even now.

And Viktor couldn't have been more proud of himself – or his machine, for that matter – if pride was still a part of his very limited human form. Little emotion permeated from him that could be mistaken for pride, however. Damned human brain.

But no matter, he would be rid of it soon enough.

Ever since the Demacian had entered the city, Viktor had been preparing his laboratory for evacuation, knowing she would infiltrate the facility eventually. And much to the guard's surprise, he might add. Truly skilled in espionage she was. Too bad he couldn't put that skill to use for his own plans.

Without any words, he walked over to the girl. For a moment he stared at her, thinking how such a pretty face could start a war that would end in _his_ victory. Viktor let a maniacal bout of laughter escape from him.

Everything was falling into place perfectly.

He knelt down next to the girl and gently caressed her cheek.

"You know," his mechanical voice spoke quietly to the unconscious blonde "I too wished for a world of progress, a world of peace and prosperity. Oh, but how everything has changed. Now I know what must be done to make this world perfect. And you are the first step to accomplishing such a feat. You should feel honored, _human_."

Viktor spat his last word out fiercely, grabbing the small piece of metal extended to him by his robot arm. Being placed next to the Demacian spy's satchel, it looked as if the object had unfortunately fallen out. Just an unfortunate turn of events that would have the Zaunites demanding retribution. Only blood could pay for the terroristic attack that Viktor had orchestrated.

Walking away, amidst the dust and debris, Viktor left the scene of his former lab. He could hear the sirens closing in, and wanted to be gone before any law enforcement agent showed up. What he didn't notice, however, was the young man walking through the dust and examining the wreckage.

"Huh, this must've been a lab," the new arrival said quietly, yet excitedly. "And a high tech one too! Man, there's gotta be some good stuff around here."

Searching through the rubble quickly, Ekko found almost nothing out of the ordinary. Only dust, debris, ash, and machinery too big to carry were left in the explosion's wake. But that did not deter Ekko, who forged on, determined to find something interesting in this mess of concrete and metal before the police arrived.

A whistle escaped Ekko's lips. "I've never seen equipment like this. Someone must have been working on something big… or completely illegal…" Ekko growled, commenting on the scientific machines surrounding him.

Ekko refocused on the task at hand, ignoring his conscience battling with itself to try and figure how to feel about this disaster.

A few more steps and he came upon an unexpected sight. It was a body lying in the debris, only sporting mild injuries from the looks of it. Ekko rushed over to see if he could help in any way. He stopped dead in his tracks when he recognized the petite blonde figure.

"Layna…?" he questioned to himself as he continued running towards the body.

Falling to his knees and scooping her limp body up into his arms, Ekko quickly checked for a heartbeat. Hearing both the thumping against her chest and the breaths escaping her mouth put Ekko at ease. Quickly he checked over Layna's body, taking count of any severe injuries. Nothing seemed to be broken, and no severe cuts anywhere, and…

Out of the corner of his eye, Ekko noticed an object that seemed to have fallen from Layna's being. He picked up the object, instantly recognizing it. He gasped.

'A… a Piltover Law Enforcement Badge… No…' Ekko thought as his eyes widened and he put the pieces together. He closed his eyes tight in anger, then turned an evil glare onto the unconscious blonde. Before Ekko could say anything or try to wake up Layna, the young Zaunite heard sirens just outside of what remained of the facility's walls.

This was where Ekko had to make a split decision.

Both sides of his mind tugged, trying to prove which outcome seemed to be the better choice in the long run.

On one hand, he takes Layna with him, saving her from what would be a torturous interrogation. Literally. And it wasn't as if Layna wasn't a good person, she just happened to be born in Piltover. But that's the thing, she was born and raised in Piltover, the rival to Zaun. Worse yet, she worked for them as an undercover officer.

This led to the other hand of the struggle. Leaving her here would be just as easy as that. After all, if she blew up the research facility like Ekko think she did, then she deserved whatever punishment she would receive. But something stopped him from choosing that decision right away. Whether it be the fact that he couldn't accept that Layna was a bad person, or that a Zaunite officer seeing a badge like this at the site of the explosion would lead to war, Ekko didn't know.

For a second longer, he struggled internally. Then he screamed to the sky.

"Dammit!"

He scooped up the unconscious Layna and pocketed the badge, making a run for it and hoping the Zaunite officers didn't catch him.

'It would be fun to explain the situation to them. I'm sure we'd all have a _great_ laugh about it over some drinks,' Ekko thought bitterly. He sighed again, calming himself and focusing on getting away from the now-cop-infested facility (ruins would describe the scene better).

'Well, worse comes to worse, I can always turn her in. Heh, and Scrafty gets his wish. That lucky bastard…'

* * *

 **A/N: The whole thing about Lux bending light to turn herself invisible, I checked and it's 100% canon… according to the LoL wiki. Any who, this was probably the first BIG plot development chapter, so yay! Mile stone reached. Review, favorite, follow, do what chu gotta do, big dogs.**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	7. Chapter 6: Tentative Agreement

**Chapter 6: Tentative Agreement, Daring Escape**

Everything bounced up and down as she opened her eyes, briefly escaping the confines of her unconscious mind. She could see a dark, night sky up above, moonless and starless due to the toxic clouds. Blinking away some of the haziness from her eyes, she could just make out the brief image of someone familiar. But where had she seen him before?

His mouth was etched in a frown on his dark skinned face and air passed swiftly in and out of his nostrils, no doubt because of his running. A familiar, one of a kind hairdo, featuring a white mohawk, came into view for a moment. Then, she saw his eyes. An immense sense of déjà vu followed as she looked at those angered eyes, but only for a brief second. Her mind grasped at straws, trying to remember who he was. But before she could, her eyes drooped shut and her mind completely shut itself off.

* * *

The world was spinning wildly around Lux as she began to slip in and out of consciousness yet again. Immediately, her mind went to work assessing the situation where she couldn't see nor hear clearly. Yet, anyway.

'Okay, I'm alive. Good,' she spoke internally as she tried to keep positive. 'I'm also not stuck under a huge pile of debris. So, the shield did its work. Even better. And I'm not being carried anymore. Now, the question is where am I?'

Her faint memory of breaking through her unconscious state earlier surfaced to the forefront of her mind. Immediately she began analyzing it, searching for clues as to where she could be.

Suddenly, she could hear a set of faint voices. One of them had a twangy tone to it that sounded as if it was trying to sell someone something completely shady. And the other sounded… like…

'Wait a minute… dark skin…'

"Okay, Scrafty, then what do you want me to do with her?! Huh?" The familiar voice said agitatedly to its comrade. "I mean, screw the upper class and all, but she came from _Piltover_ to destroy a _Zaun_ facility! As much as I hate them for what they've done… I hate Piltover even more for how they've treated us. And you know it. So why are you defending her?"

'White mohawk…'

The meeker, more street-wise voice – which must have been Scrafty Lux concluded – responded a lot more calmly. "'Cause she's pretty? I don't know, I just have a feeling it ain't as black and white as ya think it is. Just calm down for a second and let's wait 'til she wakes up. Maybe she can shed a little light on what happened? And who knows, maybe, just maybe, she destroyed a facility that harmed our friends in the past."

'Those pained, betrayed eyes…'

Suddenly, the events of the past couple days rushed back to her like a stampeding horse. As her eyes opened, and she saw the two figures standing in a familiar room, she knew it was…

"Ekko…?" The single name escaping her lips was all she could mutter as a violent fit of coughing overtook her.

The sound of the blonde spy's raspy, soft voice managed to catch the two boys' attention. Once Lux's coughing had ceased, the shaggy, yellow-haired boy (Scrafty, she assumed) brought her some water. Lux made to reach for the glass, but found she could not move her hands at all, noticing for the first time that her hands were bound behind her to the chair she sat on. She let her head fall in exhaustion for a moment.

"Looks like you're still out of it, eh?" Scrafty spoke as Lux's head came back up, a glass of water now being held in front of her face. Carefully, he tipped the glass against Lux's dry lips as she greedily drank the water offered to her.

Choking a little bit after drinking the water too fast and coughing it up, Lux muttered to the stranger, "Thank you."

Scrafty nodded before retreating from Lux and allowing Ekko to come up in front of her. To say he looked angry would be an understatement. No doubt, in his current mood, he could give Lux's mother a run for her money.

Managing to meet his eyes, though a little guiltily, Lux figured she'd try and explain. "Ekko, I-"

The time-traveler didn't even give her the chance, cutting her off instantly.

"I don't care, Layna. Or is that even your real name? Huh?! How you could be so cold-hearted and played me so easily, I'll never understand!" the young man ranted as he passed back and forth in the room Lux now recognized to be the main room of Ekko's apartment. "You lied to me, Piltover… Blatantly lied to me, and pretended to care about m- y problems. And on top of that, you blew up a part of Zaun!"

Ekko caught himself before saying something else, from what Lux heard. But it didn't matter, the words stung just the same and Ekko knew who she was. Lux's eyes began to water, if just a little. Then, her resolve hardened, as she reigned in her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she ventured to answer Ekko's questions.

"I know what I did was in poor taste, Ekko. But don't take my kindness from the other day as a front to protect myself. I truly saw- see you as a friend. And the explosion? That wasn't even me, I swear! It was… someone else." Lux stopped herself from naming off a possible suspect, hoping to keep Ekko in the dark. She wanted to keep this information secret for fear of anyone else knowing, but a part of her had to admit she wanted to save Ekko from the dangerous information she knew. Even if it did make her look even more guilty.

The last thing he said caught her attention, though. Before Ekko could voice a retort, Lux asked, "And what do you mean, 'Piltover'?" Where had that come from?

"Don't play coy with me. Even now you still try to lie to me? Here, maybe this will refresh your memory!" Ekko stopped pacing and pulled out an object that looked similar to a badge and tossed it on Lux's lap.

Lux looked at it, recognizing the badge as belonging to a Piltover officer. Realization dawned upon Lux as her eyes widened slightly.

"This… isn't mine, Ekko," she pleaded, trying to protect her identity with a last-ditch effort.

"Really? Then whose is it? And more importantly, who are you?"

Lux bit her lip, breaking eye contact with Ekko and praying that maybe Scrafty would save her from this interrogation. But he didn't prove to be that kind as Lux stole a glance at the forgotten individual in the room who was content at watching the whole affair with obvious interest.

Her face fell as she tried coming up with a solution to get out of this predicament, but nothing came to mind as she stared blankly at the wooden floor.

"Who. Are. You?" Ekko articulated every word, wanting an answer and a truthful one at that. "Tell me, now. I'm not afraid to turn you in to the cops."

Lux looked at Ekko with wide eyes. Tears brimmed at the corner of them again. She tried looking into the young man's eyes, hoping to gauge if he was being serious. But she couldn't tell, as the dim light in the room caused Ekko's face to be shadowed. Even at such a close distance to her.

She let out a defeated, shaky sigh. Her cover was indeed blown.

"I'm… Luxanna Crownguard of Demacia. I can't tell you much else, besides the fact that Zaun will soon be forever changed. Maybe even destroyed… Believe me when I say that is all I can tell you without putting you in even more danger." She told him all she could, for the moment. Everything else she would try and hide from him. Knowing how smart the young inventor was, however, she bet he would fit the other remaining pieces together.

This caught Ekko's attention.

"Forever changed…?"

"Destroyed?! What's that supposed to mean?" Scrafty joined into the conversation, doing his best to cover his cracked voice.

Lux bit her lip again, knowing it may have been a terrible idea to tell them about this. But she couldn't stop now.

"If I tell you anymore, you will be in as much peril as I am right now as long as you stay in Zaun. So please, for your sake, ask yourselves if you truly wish to know." Lux spoke with her head held high and as truthfully as she could. Hopefully, Ekko would believe her, heed her warning, and let her go, not involving himself any more than he already had.

Ekko, whose face had only softened slightly, turned to glance at Scrafty. Nodding his head to the door, Scrafty got the message.

"Nuh-uh, not happening, Ekko. I wanna hear this!"

"Scrafty, if she's telling the truth, I don't want you to be put in to any unnecessary danger. It would make my job harder," Ekko smirked, his usual, laid-back personality breaking through for a moment before his unfriendly persona returned. "If I think she's lying, I'll tell you what she said. Either way, you win. Deal?"

Scrafty looked about ready to protest, but conceded as Ekko just kept staring at him. No way would Ekko let Scrafty hear what Lux had to say, and he knew it. Relenting with a heavy sigh, the shaggy-haired boy left the room, his shoulders fallen in disappointment.

As soon as Scrafty left, Ekko's glare turned back to Lux. Before he could ask anything, the blonde Demacian spoke, trying to stall and come up with a plan to deter Ekko from finding out what she knew.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Ekko," she began timidly.

"For what?" Ekko scoffed. "For blowing up the lab? For lying to me? For not trusting me, even after I saved your life? For making me think that someone not from Zaun could possibly think better of me? For believing in me when you really didn't?"

The young man started pacing around the room again for a few moments before coming eye to eye with Lux.

For a moment, silence ensued as Lux just looked on teary eyed at Ekko.

"You may not believe me, Ekko," Lux began with renewed resolve "but all those things I said about you being a light in the darkness? I meant every single word. I do believe in you. I wish you could see that I'm telling the truth, but… I understand why you wouldn't. After all, my entire profession revolves around lying." A self-deprecating smile appeared on Lux's face as she shook he head to halt anymore tears from appearing in her eyes.

Ekko stood dumbfounded, truly wondering if any truth lay behind her words. He didn't know, and he wasn't going to find out anytime soon. The wounds left in the wake of being lied to in such a way do not heal quickly.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Ekko let this part of the conversation die as he continued his previous line of questioning. "Tell me what is going to happen to Zaun?"

"Ekko… I can't… I don't want you to…" Lux mumbled and stumbled over her words, still trying to save him from what she knew.

"What? You're scared you might put me in danger?!" Ekko snapped, having lost his patience after all that had transpired within the past few days. "I don't care, Layna, Luxanna, whoever you are! I swore I would protect these boys – my friends – no matter what, and that means making sure this city stays safe enough for them to at least have a chance at living. So tell me. Now."

For a moment Lux just stared wide-eyed at Ekko. He would endanger himself to protect his friends. But Lux wanted to protect her friend too, even if he didn't consider them to be friends anymore. She just couldn't –

"Ekko!" The door burst open as Scrafty strode in with another, much younger boy by his side. "We've got a problem. Lynx just said a patrol of Zaun officers are on their way."

The boy next to Scrafty, Lynx, nodded vigorously. "It's true! I was on the roof with a couple of the others and saw them entering the apartment building!"

"Dammit," Ekko cursed under his breath as he turned from grilling Lux for information. "How long ago was this?"

"A few minutes ago, but I think they're searching every apartment – from what I could hear, anyway." Ekko and Scrafty looked at Lynx with disapproving stares. "What? If you're small, no one notices you. Might as well sneak past 'em and see what they're up to. Which, by the way, they're looking for a 'young man with a white mohawk' and a 'suspicious blonde woman'." The youngest boy looked behind Ekko to see Lux, still tied up to a chair. "Guessin' that's her?"

"Focus, Lynx," Ekko said in an almost growl to get the boy's attention.

"Right, sorry. So looks like you guys have time to escape but…"

"We can't exactly walk out the front door," Ekko finished with a sigh, covering his face with his hand in annoyance. "Alright, alright, looks like we don't have much of a choice." Walking over behind Lux, the young man untied the rope binding his captive. "You better be telling the truth if I'm risking my neck for you."

Once her bindings were off, Lux rubbed her wrists, glad to have hands free again. She was caught off guard by both her satchel and baton being thrown to her.

"Ekko…" she began quietly.

"Listen, in exchange for me saving your butt – again, might I add – you're going to tell me what is going on and why Zaun is in danger." Ekko led the small group from the main room to the door that stood opposite his bedroom. "I'm going out on a limb and believing what you say is true. But let's get one thing straight: I don't trust you."

Lux nodded solemnly, but understood.

"It's going to take a lot to earn it back. Though you telling me what you know would be a good start, I think." His voice came out emotionless, but the chance for redemption was there. After all, Lux had seen him at his worse and comforted him because of it. He couldn't completely shut her out, yet. Why, though, was Ekko giving her this second chance so easily? In all honesty, he couldn't even come up with a truthful answer to his own question.

Whatever the reason may be, a smile flitted across Lux's face before she became serious again as Ekko turned to face her and the two other boys.

"Right," she nodded again, this time with determination. Receiving a nod from Ekko in turn.

His attention switched to Scrafty and Lynx, who stood next to Lux.

"Alright, you're in charge until I get back, Scrafty." Ekko clasped his friend's shoulder encouragingly. "Make sure they don't destroy my apartment at the very least."

Scrafty chuckled as his hand found its way to Ekko's shoulder, mirroring his friend. "No promises. And it's not like we won't be seeing you soon."

"Of course," Ekko lamented, knowing that he may not see Scrafty, Lynx, or any of his friends for a long time. He guided Lux into the small room. Inside was a single hatch. Ekko opened it, revealing an opening to a bottomless shaft that looked big enough to fit a person.

Instantly recognizing where this was going, Lux let out an exaggerated sigh. "Not again…"

Despite the current situation, Ekko smirked and turned to Lux. "I promise this time it won't lead into a river of sewage."

"I'm sure," Lux said with a grin as she lowered her legs into the hole. "Do any of your plans ever involve coming out of a situation not smelling like you?"

Smirk still on his face, Ekko nudged the Demacian with his hand, causing her to fall down the chute without even being able to prepare for it. However, the Zaunite was caught off guard himself as Lux managed to grab his hand and pull him down with her.

"Shiiiiiiiiit!" Ekko yelled as he was pulled down the chute.

And just like that, Scrafty and Lynx were the only two living souls left in the apartment.

"Wait, what did Ekko mean when he said Zaun is in danger?!" Lynx blurted out as he finally caught up on the conversation.

* * *

"Well, if I there's one nice thing to say about the Zaun police, it's that they're persistent," Ekko grumbled as he reflexively pulled his head back from the corner of the building he was looking around. A spotlight swept past the spot where Ekko's head was a couple seconds later. "Don't know how we're going to get out of here."

What Ekko was referring to was the giant, steel gate that separated Zaun proper from the outlying villages and shacks that bordered the city-state. Police forces guarded the gate and patrolled along its parapet. No doubt they were on high alert, looking for the reported 'blonde Demacian' that could only be Lux. And yet normal through traffic – what little there was in the early morning hours – continued to flow into the city like a trickling stream. Which meant the gate was still open.

Yet the persistent problem was already explained, no doubt Ekko did not need to be reminded of this.

"So, Luxanna-"

"It's Lux, Ekko. Never call me Luxanna," the young blonde replied a little unevenly, agitated at being called by her full name.

"Whatever, Luxanna. Any ideas on how to get past these guys?" Ekko spoke, ignoring the look of slight irritation he received from the Demacian standing behind him.

"Give me a second, I'll think of something. Finally run out of ideas there, Mohawk?" Lux chided, trying to get back at Ekko for calling her by her full name. "I thought you could outsmart a few police officers."

"Hey, I got us this far. Can't carry the both of us for too long," Ekko responded nonchalantly, ignoring the attempt at the jab to his intellect.

It was true, Ekko did have the foresight to get them this far. After jumping down the shaft and landing in a pile of garbage – which Lux knew was coming the moment she saw the chute – the duo zig zagged around the alleyways of Zaun. Through Ekko's knowledge of the streets and Lux's covert training, they eventually snuck their way to the city's main entry and exit way. With the Zaunite's smarts and the Demacian's experience, the two made a pretty good team, Lux would admit. Ekko on the other hand would need coaxing to accept that fact.

And after all that trouble, they finally made it to their desired destination within a few hours. But they needed to hurry, lest the sun rise and they be found out before they even made it out of Zaun.

For a few more moments, the duo continued to think of a solution to get over to the other side of that gate, but nothing came to mind.

"You're the spy here. You should know some ways to get past them," Ekko jabbed at Lux.

"I do, but there's no way for me to conceal the two of us at the same time; I have a hard enough time in this city with just myself. Unless you want me to just leave you here of course," Lux rebuked with a faint smile, though the question was entirely serious.

"No, no, no. You aren't backing out of this deal. Besides, they have a warrant for my arrest too. So the only way forward is… well, forward." With a sigh Ekko pushed himself off of the wall he leaned against.

"Well why don't we… Ekko…?"

With a motion of his hand, the young time traveler revved up his Z-drive.

"Be right back. Gonna test out a few timelines, see what happens."

Dashing around the corner of the building, ignoring the waves of protest coming from Lux, Ekko immediately went for the closest officer to him. He quickly slid past the guard, bringing his glowing sword behind him to knock the surprised man off of his feet. A sickening crunch followed as the man's skull collided with cobble stoned street.

Ekko didn't waste any time as he threw a timewinder at one of the many officers that were now focused on him. It hit Ekko's victim right in the head, knocking him out cold. Emitting a pulse as it achieved its maximum ranged, the device threw back three more officers, rendering them unable to fight. Bolting forward towards his next target, Ekko caught the timewinder as it returned back to him.

'And this,' Ekko thought as he took out another of the officers with a quick whack with the flat of his sword 'is why brute force is always the first answer!'

However, the element of surprise soon wore off as one of the officers on the tower had finally drawn a bead on the assailant. Without second thought, he fired. For a split second, Ekko felt an immeasurable amount of pain in his shoulder. He fell hard to the ground. Then, as officers surrounded him, he pushed the button on his right hand glove, activating the Z-drive. All pain and feeling disappeared, replaced by the familiar tug and pull of being transported back to where he stood with Lux moments ago.

"Well why don't we… Ekko…?

"Alright, let me try this again. Hold on, Luxanna, I've got an idea."

Before she could even respond, Ekko had bolted around the corner of the building again. Then her witty retort turned into a protest. But that didn't stop Ekko before, it wouldn't stop him now.

Dashing to his first victim, Ekko followed the same steps from the previous timeline, up to him catching his timewinder at least. From there, he hid behind one of the many hextech cars, which were now abandoned – or in the process of being abandoned – as their drivers sought cover from the firefight taking place. A sharp ding came from the car, showing the shot that had taken out Ekko in the previous timeline had been fired.

Immediately, Ekko left the safety of the vehicle, only to be met with officers still surrounding him, all guns trained on him.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "They never make it easy." Pressing the button on his glove. He retreated back to his previous place in time once again.

"Well why don't we… Ekko…?"

Without even responding to the questioning look Lux was giving him, Ekko twisted the button on his right hand glove. Lux was all the more confused as Ekko's action seemed to have done nothing. Once the young man bolted around the corner of the building, however, a glowing, ghostly image of him was left in his wake, tossing a device in its hand and waiting patiently for something. The Demacian was caught off guard, not even able to call after Ekko in protest this time.

Again, Ekko repeated his actions, but came to the point where he stepped out from the cover of the car. As he did so this time, instead of cursing and giving up, he charged towards the five officers that were waiting to shoot him. Just as they were about to fire, a bluish half-sphere encompassed Ekko and the officers, causing them to stay still in time. Without even realizing it, they were all subdued in some way, shape, or form. A cocky smirk now plastered on his face, Ekko made for the last of the officers that stood atop the gate that would be his and Lux's exit.

Ducking behind another hextech car, Ekko peeked out, hoping to gauge the position of the two guards. A bullet whizzed by his head as he pulled himself back into cover. What could he do?

'Might as well just wing it,' he thought casually, unafraid of the threat of death. 'Worse comes to worst, I can just use the Z-drive. Man, I love this thing.'

Jumping over the car, he strode across the top of it, hoping that no bullets would hit him this time. He heard the echo of a gunshot and dodge it just in time.

But a disheartening shattering sound followed the gunshot. He didn't feel any pain anywhere and the sound had come from extremely close by. As if it came from his person. Which could only mean…

"Uh oh."

Ekko's heart fell as he turned to check on his Z-drive and his worst fears were confirmed; a neat hole had been shot through the glass of the device, causing it to completely shut down. Repeatedly, Ekko pressed the button on his right hand glove, hoping upon hope that something would happen. Something, anything! Being caught out in the open with spot lights and two high-tech rifles trained on him could not be good for his health.

"No… no no no. Dammit!" He swore as he tried fiddling with the Z-drive as best as he could from his position.

The emptying of used shells and cocking of guns returned Ekko's attention to the _other_ problem at hand. He stared up at the gate, being blinded by the spotlights and unable to see his killers' faces. No doubt, they still had their guns pointed right at him. After all, he had just taken out the rest of the officers, so he would be seen as a dangerous threat. One that needed to be dealt with before anything else happened.

For the first time since he invented the Z-drive, Ekko was abandoned by time. And chills crept up his spine as he felt truly afraid of what was to come.

"I… don't wanna… die…" he mumbled to himself as tears filled the corners of his eyes.

The sound of two guns going off filled Ekko's ears as everything seemed to slow down. He brought up his arms to cover his head, for all the good that would do. Eyes shut tight, the young time-traveler flinched as death came closer and closer by the millisecond.

"Ekko!" the sudden calling of his name sped time up again.

Opening his eyes, Ekko saw a shield appear in front of him. One of the bullets aimed straight for his head ricocheted off of the barrier harmlessly, but not before the other bullet buried itself into Ekko's arm.

Biting his lip to stifle his screaming, Ekko fell onto his knee and beat his fist into the cobble stone to try and focus on anything else but the pain that now burned in his arm.

"Agh! Shit!"

He lifted his head up and managed to see Lux in front of him, shooting a ball of swirling light from her baton that exploded when it came within range of the two officers, tossing them both off of the gate and knocking them out as they hit the ground below. Immediately after, she went back to help her wounded partner.

"Are you okay?" she asked before she saw the blood seeping in between his fingers that now desperately clutched his wounded arm. "You're hurt. Here, this will help until we can get you proper medical attention."

Lux ripped off a part of her cowl, tying the piece of purple fabric firmly over Ekko's wound. She hoped that would be enough to stop the bleeding for the time being.

"And drink this, it'll ease the pain." Lux reached into her pack and produced a bottle of red liquid, giving it to Ekko. Immediately he gulped it down without a second thought, recognizing it to be some sort of healing potion. A numb feeling still overcame his entire arm and the wound still bled somewhat, but the pain had been dulled considerably as the potion took effect.

With a nod of thanks Ekko stood up. The distant sound of sirens caused both of their heads to turn. Quickly, Lux picked up her baton and began to run beside Ekko. They sprinted towards the steel gates, hoping upon hope they could run away before any of the officers could arrive on the scene and follow their trail.

* * *

"Ow… Dammit, that hu- OW!" Ekko screamed, instantly covering his mouth with his free hand.

Lux raised finger up to her lips and furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. "Hold still and be quiet, Ekko. You're worse than my brother before he went to the military academy."

"Yeah? Well I don't think your brother ever received a bullet in his arm Luxa-" Ekko's retort was cut short as he muffled a scream that tried so desperately to escape his mouth.

Raising her brow, and removing her finger from the bullet wound she had just put a little too much pressure on _accidently_ , Lux said, "I'm sorry, what's my name?"

A couple seconds passed before Ekko conceded and sighed.

"Lux…"

"Yup," she beamed brightly, but quietly. "Annnnnnd… there you go! Should be fine until we get to a village."

Ekko examined his arm, which was now in a quickly fashioned fabric sling due to the broken bone he now had. But it was better than having the bullet that caused his wound stuck in his arm still. Would have been a lot more painful to forcibly pry it out than drinking a healing potion and laying off his arm for a while. Small miracles.

The two stood up from their spot under the tree they used to take a quick rest and patch up Ekko. After escaping the city, the pair instantly made a b-line for the small forest that stood far from Zaun and guarded the city-state from the rest of the world like an unwilling blockade. It took them at least an hour, as the forest wished to stay as far away from the pollutants as possible. So far, no one had followed.

"Thanks…" Ekko mumbled as he followed Lux through the forest. "That solves the smaller problem."

The time-traveler stole a glance at his busted invention, seeing that it still had a hole in it and wouldn't function properly any time soon. He had hoped this all had been just a bad dream, never had the Z-drive taken such a hit. Ekko wondered if he could even fix it. It took him years to perfect his device, which he considered to be his child. And now, it was completely broken…

"Aw, don't be so sad, Ekko. I'm sure where we're going you can find the parts and tools you need to fix it," Lux tried to comfort him with a pat on his shoulder.

Ekko sighed, having a sneaking suspicion of where they were going. "I really don't want to ask this, but where are we going?"

"Piltover, of course!"

Ekko visibly sagged after hearing that. With a groan, he tried to argue out of going there.

"Why do we have to go there? Can't where go somewhere like, I don't know… Freljord? The Voodoo Lands? Even the Plague Jungles would be better." Ekko pouted as he crossed his arms.

"Don't be such a baby! After all, this is where we can find people to help us save Zaun!"

"Which, by the way, you still haven't told me anything about that. But why does Piltover need to get involved! Bunch of posers and snobs…"

"Hey, some of those posers and snobs are my friends," Lux rebuked, getting a little offended by Ekko. "Besides, would you rather go there or back to Zaun? Your choice, I'm not forcing you to come."

A look back towards the forest they had traversed so far gave Ekko all the answers he needed. Definitely could not go back there with people still sore over his escape. Especially the police force, and he knew they couldn't let go of grudge for a while.

"Shurima doesn't sound so bad this time of year, either."

"Oh, stop," Lux, despite herself, chuckled openly at Ekko's last ditch effort to get out of going to Piltover. "If we can get people to help us in Piltover, then maybe we can save Zaun and make it a better place, safe for your friends. Isn't that what you want?"

"Yeah." Bringing his hands up behind his Ekko added in, "But _without_ any Piltover assistance. Once they're done helping us save it from whoever, they can leave. And why am I still talking to you? Aren't I supposed to be mad at you for lying to me?" His words were conflicting with his thoughts, as if someone was actually telling him what to say.

"I don't know, are you?" Lux flashed him a dazzling smile that caused Ekko to blush a little, and the young Demacian to giggle again.

Ekko didn't have time to form a response as the duo finally passed out of the forest and into an open field of yellow and brown grass. More like a savannah than anything else. But that's not what caught Ekko's attention.

A glowing, bright orb to the east forced Ekko to shade his eyes to dim the brightness. The sheer beauty of the sun rising over the distant mountains took the Zaunite's breath away. Of course he had seen the sun before when the weather was rarely fair in Zaun. But never had he seen a sunrise. Words failed him as he tried to think of something to say about the picturesque scene.

Lux came up next to him, smiling and hands clasped behind her back. "First sunrise?" she questioned as if reading his thoughts.

He could only nod as they walked up a pathway leading up a small hill. The view became better and better. Then he saw Zaun. Smog and other harmful clouds of toxins covered the city, blocking the sun's pleasant rays. The city-state was like a stain on a perfectly colored painting.

'A stain… Is that what I think of Zaun as now?' Ekko thought as he basked in the warmth of the rising sun. Taking a deep breath, he shook his head. 'No. Zaun is just a darker shade of the world's color palette… Okay, did I really just say that in my head? These can't be my thoughts. Get them out!'

Ekko stole one last look at the city that had always been his home before following behind Lux who was now at the bottom of the hill. A faint breeze swept through the plains, ruffling Ekko's mohawk.

"Don't blow up while I'm gone," he mumbled, a bittersweet feeling rising up inside of him. With that, he disappeared from the view of the city and followed Lux, yelling after her, "Okay, spill the beans, why the hell is Zaun in so much danger?!"

* * *

 **A/N: I honest to god don't know if I made Ekko too forgiving in this one. I don't know, with the scenes beforehand and the scenes that happened in this chapter and the last chapter, I think he would have mixed, conflicting feelings about Lux at this point. If you think I didn't do this chapter justice, then please don't be afraid to critique me. This is a little bit of territory that I haven't stepped into yet as a writer. I will admit though, I also did this to keep the plot ball a rollin'. Didn't think having a chapter fully focused on Ekko forgiving Lux would be a good thing. So one gradual leap, then baby steps following in mending their relationship. Good? Good.**

 **Also, age establishment. Ekko is supposed to be 16 to 17, if the LoL wiki is any indicator, but I go against that. Let's say he's… 22? 23 maybe? As is Lux. Just establishing that. No confusion. Anyway, review, favorite, follow (which, holy crap guys, thanks for all the follows, touches my heart), and do whatever y'all need to do.**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	8. Chapter 7: Rivet is Riveting

**Chapter 7: Rivet is Riveting**

"So let me get this straight, you're a spy for the Demacian military, and what you're saying is that some mad scientist wants to start an all-out war between Zaun and Piltover?" Lux nodded her head in response while Ekko continued to piece together the Demacian's story. "And you have almost no information on this guy, except that he goes by 'V' and the plans you were able to steal from his now destroyed lab – these scraps of paper," Ekko waved them around with his one good hand, Lux asking him to take a look at the designs to see if he knew anything about them, "have designs for what you think is supposed to be armor and weapons for some sort of… what, machine? Monster?"

"I would go with machine-monster," Lux supplied with a giggle.

"Right," Ekko sighed. "Well, I hate to admit it, but this wouldn't be the weirdest way I've seen Zaun try to start a war with Piltover. What doesn't make sense is why this 'V' wants to go to war. Or why he would want these 'machine-monsters' so heavily armored. I mean it could just be for the sake of war, but I have a feeling that isn't the case."

"This is why we need to get to Piltover. I know some people there who could get to the bottom of this mystery in their sleep. They'll help us stop this war before it begins, you return to Zaun, and we are hailed as heroes!"

"Yeah, heroes. Whatever you say, Blondie." Ekko shoved the papers back into Lux's hands, still holding some resentment towards the Demacian for being lied to.

The duo had been walking all day ever since leaving the forest bordering Zaun that morning and evading the Zaun police. By now they were well outside of the city-state's influence, having passed into open countryside around mid-day. Now, the sun was nearly setting as the pair walked a dirt road that would eventually cross over into Piltover's territory. But that was at least another two days travel, then from there another three days to get to the city-state of Piltover.

Ekko dreaded the walk, while Lux actually seemed to like it. She was rather enjoying the scenery of the Zaunite countryside. When people thought of Zaun or its surrounding areas, many thought of rivers of sludge, trees as black as night and completely barren of leaves, and monstrous, failed experiments roaming around the charred, unfertile land. But Lux was pleasantly surprised to see none of that was true. In fact, the area outside of the city-state proper looked almost like the fields and rolling hills Lux traveled through in Piltover; golden waves of grass turning colors in the early fall weather and a pleasant breeze flowing over the hills through the trees that dotted the plains.

 _Maybe Piltover and Zaun really aren't that different_ , Lux thought to herself, thinking on the words a choice few outside of Piltover and Zaun believed.

"Hey, Blondie," Ekko spoke, shaking Lux out of her thoughts and gaining her attention. He didn't face her, instead focusing on continuing his walk down the dirt road. "Thanks for saving me back in Zaun. Without your shield, I'd probably be dead right now."

"Of course," Lux responded with a smile. "Even if you don't trust me right now, we're partners. And as your partner, please don't ever try anything reckless like that ever again!" Lux was scowling now as she scolded Ekko.

The young Zaunite chuckled. He looked back at his damaged Z-drive. "Well I don't think you have to worry about that for a while. After all, the only security I had while performing those reckless stunts is completely useless now. I don't even know if I'll ever be able to have it back in working condition ever again."

The Z-drive, having been damaged in the pair's escape from Zaun, was now just added weight Ekko carried around on his back. It was his pride and joy, taking years to perfect in its design and creation, so of course he would be disappointed that his invention was so severely damaged. Not only that, but it provide him with a sort of comfort whenever he fought, because no matter how bleak something seemed, he could just travel back to the beginning of the fight and end it on his terms. And now he couldn't. So how could he actually win his fights now without knowing the outcomes or possibilities?

He would never admit it, but that thought alone scared him.

Lux looked down to the ground, scowl gone. "Ekko…" For a few more seconds a silence fell between the two, before Lux said in an upbeat tone, "There has to be some way to fix it! And if there is, I'm sure you can find it in Piltover. After all, they do rival Zaun in science and innovation. They're sure to have the tools, minds, and anything else you'll need to get the Z-drive back in working order. I'm sure of it!"

"I was afraid you'd say that. I'm not going to use Piltover's help to fix this," Ekko scoffed.

Lux puffed her cheeks out in irritation. "Oh, don't be like that. If you want to ever be able to time-travel again, you're going to have to accept their help or wait until you get back to Zaun."

"Then I think I can wait." Ekko's response was cool and immediate.

"You're really stubborn, you know that?" Lux pouted. "It was just a thought anyway, not like I was saying you _have_ to ask for Piltover's help." She could see that Ekko wouldn't budge on the subject, but Lux knew there was always some way to move even an unmovable obstacle. This one would just take some time to figure out.

"True. Thanks for the idea at least," Ekko relented with a sigh.

 _See? Just takes time_ , Lux thought victoriously.

"But don't think this lets you off the hook. You still have a long way to go after that stunt you pulled in Zaun, Blondie," Ekko finished, resting his one good arm behind his head.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Mohawk," Lux responded with a coy smile.

Unable to ignore that last comment, Ekko chuckled lightly before focusing back on the road ahead. "So how much further until we reach this village you told me about?"

"Well, we should be coming to it pretty soon. In fact, I think it's right around that hill." Lux pointed to a hill roughly half a mile away from their position on the road. "According to my calculations, we should be there before the sun sets."

"Calculations?" Ekko echoed slowly. "Okay, sure." The young Zaunite squinted, something having caught his eyes from the top of the hill they stood upon. He nudged Lux. "Hey, do you see that, too? Or am I just going insane?"

Lux looked in the direction of the hill, squinting her eyes to get a better view of what Ekko was pointing out. "Well I don't know if you're sane or not, but… Yeah, I see it. It looks almost like a…"

"A woman," Ekko finished.

It was a woman, running almost full sprint from around the hill on the dirt road. Whatever had her running so fiercely couldn't be good.

"I think something's wrong. Come on!" Without waiting for a response, Lux ran down the hill.

"Hey, wait! Blondie!" Ekko followed after her, saying nothing else other than that.

The pair met the woman about three-quarters of the way towards the village, having been faster than her. As the woman came up to Lux and Ekko, she doubled over, breathing heavily and gasping for air. Lux immediately came to her aid, taking out her canteen of water and giving it to the exhausted woman.

She accepted it gratefully. Ekko was able to get a better look at her as he came up to Lux's side. The woman, who looked to be middle-aged, had on a white science coat that flowed down the full length of her thin frame. Wrinkles covered her face, as did a pair of glasses, and her black hair was beginning to grey in places, showing the advancement of age.

It wasn't until after the woman had recovered and caught her breath did she finally speak.

"Y-you have to help! My village… under attack!" she pleaded in between gasps for air. "My son and… husband… helping defend it… They're in danger! Won't last long! Please, help!"

Lux nodded, having heard all she needed to hear. She twirled her baton in her hand and began running towards the village, only sparing enough time to look back towards Ekko and yell, "Come on, Ekko! We have to help them!"

Hesitantly, Ekko nodded his head and reluctantly followed the blonde Demacian as he drew his glowing, blue sword from his back. He didn't know what he would be able to do without the Z-drive, but he had to help in some way. He could still fight of course, but one train of thought caused him to doubt himself.

 _What if I make a mistake?_

* * *

Blue arcs of electricity crackled between conductive, metal poles. Several machines were running at insane paces, almost overheating due to the exertion they were being put through. In the middle of it all, on a metal table surrounded by several scientific instruments, was a metallic arm with wires connected to it. It twitched almost constantly, electrical currents causing it to spasm. But as the current flowed through the arm, its energy increased exponentially.

Upon reaching its maximum capacity, the individual putting it through these rigorous upgrades pulled a switch that ceased all flowing of electricity. The metallic are finally rested, but not before being picked up by a pair of cyborg hands. Viktor cackled upon seeing another of his successful experiments.

Every success was a step closer to the Glorious Revolution, and to the end of organic life.

The robotically enhanced man attached the metallic arm to his back, where it hung limply. Upon pushing a few buttons on the built-in command console on his left arm, his third arm whirled to life, flailing every which way. After typing in a few commands, his arm finally came under his control. Once it had, the appendage calmed itself, releasing its will to Viktor.

"Good," he chuckled happily. "Now that you are fully upgraded, we can continue work on the plans."

"And you better have them ready soon, Viktor. After all, my masters are not known for their patience." Viktor didn't even turn to look at the new voice's owner, recognizing the serious tone immediately. Instead, he continued working at his worktable, seemingly ignoring the other individual's presence in the room.

From the shadows came a man completely covered in purple clothing in the style of the Shurima Nomads. Not only was his clothing purple, but so were his eyes, and instead of walking, a wisp of purple essence allowed him the ability to levitate inches above the ground.

Following behind him was a strange, four legged crustacean-like creature. Its entire carapace was colored purple, matching his master's clothes. But its eyes were a threatening yellow. The creature followed closely behind its master like a lapdog as he came to stand – or float would be a better term – a short distance from Viktor.

"How far along are you?"

"Far enough. They will be ready in time, I promise you this. After all, you're masters have already received half, have they not, Malzahar?" Viktor questioned as his third arm handed him a tool of some sort.

"Yes, but half is not enough. You know this as well as I do. Besides, my masters have asked that you pick up the pace. The negotiations between Noxus and Demacia are leaning dangerously close to an armistice. I can only convince Swain for so long to continue along the path of war. If they are even slightly unified before our plans come to fruition, conquering Runeterra will prove… trying."

"'Pick up the pace'? I hope you know this is delicate work that needs time. If my Glorious Revolution is to take place, every little piece needs to work perfectly, every minute detail looked over thoroughly, every subject willing!" Viktor's voice started to become agitated as the last part of his humanity was showing.

Malzahar scoffed. "Still human in some ways I see. You know, the Void could help rid you of any remnants of it, as it did me."

"No. I will not become a slave to you or your masters. If I am to continue my work, my mind needs to be somewhat unrestrained by the in-the-box thinking of machinery. Once the Glorious Revolution has begun, then I will finally overwrite the remaining pieces of my humanity with technology, not the Void." Viktor had calmed down now, reigning in his remaining emotion and replying in an even, mechanical tone.

"Of course, Viktor."

"And as for time. If your masters wish for their army to bolster more quickly, send me more subjects. I'd prefer them to be willing, but if they are not, I will make it work." A spark from Viktor's worktable ended his sentence. He reached for another tool, giving the one that was in his hands over to his third arm, which held on to it.

Malzahar smirked, his purple scarf hiding it from Viktor's view, if the robotic man was even looking at him. "Well, it just so happens that I know of some specimens that would serve both the Void and your revolution quite well."

"Perfect. Might I ask what I should be expecting? The usual specimens, or something more exotic perhaps?"

The purple-garbed man chuckled. "You shall see. All I can say on the matter now is to be ready with some new plans. They are not necessarily beings of the Void. Understood?"

"Creatures from Runeterra? Interesting. I look forward to working with them. How many will I be expecting?"

"Roughly one thousand fully-grown. Though, I think we may only be able to begin with one as an experiment. I trust you will be able to accommodate?" Malzahar questioned.

"Of course. I will see to it that I and my workers are ready for whatever you bring me," Viktor replied as he finally turned to Malzahar. "Now, is there anything else? I have some individuals I must meet with who would leap at the opportunity for a war with Piltover. Along with the Void and my creations, they will help us conquer Runeterra, though they may still be _organic_." Viktor spat out the last word, not liking the way it felt in his mouth as he said it.

"Good. I shall have your new specimens soon. Until then, Viktor," Malzahar waved his arm, summoning a purple portal behind him "I hope you continue my masters' work in earnest. Farewell." With that, the Shuriman-Void half-breed levitated through the portal, his Voidling pet following closely behind him. After they both passed through the portal, it disappeared, as if nothing had ever been there in the first place.

"Your 'masters' work'," Viktor scoffed as he made to exit his lab through a pair of metallic automatic doors. "Once I have complete control over my creations, I will be the only master." With that he cackled manically, leaving his laboratory in darkness and the many things being housed there – machine and living – to squirm in their shadowed prison.

* * *

Ekko and Lux came sharply around the hill to see a small town of wooden and bricked buildings. Black smoke was rising from unseen places and several people were fleeing to the outskirts of the town or to the safety of the more well-built buildings. The pair rushed down the dirt road to the center of the village, where the black smoke seemed to be coming from.

As they came closer and closer to the village center, the road became more and more deserted. When they came to the center, it looked there was no one there. All the pair could hear was the crackling of fires in wooden buildings and the far off sound of a struggle. They walked slowly, cautiously, further into the village.

They put their backs to each other, unable to pinpoint the exact sounds of fighting and looking around for the skirmish. It seemed to be echoing off of the buildings. As they kept looking and watching each other's backs, the sounds seemed to keep getting louder and louder. Like the fighting was moving towards Ekko and Lux. But there was no sign of it anywhere.

That is until a loud crash caught their attention.

They turned towards the noise, just in time to see what looked like a green blob fly through a wooden building, completely destroying it in the process. It was coming right for Ekko and Lux, forcing them to dive out of the projectiles path. It landed where they had been standing not a second later.

Having landed, the blob began to change shape and take form. Legs sprouted from its bottom and arms sprung from its side; a man, just being noticed by Ekko and Lux, was being held by his neck in the creature's newly formed hand. Finally, a head came from the top of its body. Yellow eyes and a mouth took shape where its face would be, and an antenna from the back of its head.

With incredible force, the gelatinous creature punched the man square in the face, sending him flying into a stack of wooden crates and barrels. Before Ekko and Lux could do anything about the monster, they heard scattered battle cries coming from the direction of the now-destroyed building. At least a dozen men stormed forth from the wreckage carrying a variety of weapons ranging from plain daggers to pistols to a brand new hextech rifle. Once they saw Ekko and Lux, they halted.

"Who the hell are they?" one of the men asked in a gravelly voice. "They don't look like villagers."

"No, they don't. But that doesn't matter. We kill them and take whatever they have on their corpses!" This man, who had a venomous tone, rose his rifle in the sky, letting loose a battle cry. Some of the men with him followed suit, others did not.

"I don't know about this," the other bandit said hesitantly. "They don't look like easy pickins."

"Neither does that monster," the man with the rifle pointed towards the bipedal gelatinous mass. "All the same, we outnumber them! They're easy prey, trust me."

"Well, if you say so," the other man relented, as did the rest who shared his opinion. They pointed their weapons at the Ekko, Lux, and the green creature. With a battle cry that matched the venomous man, the bandits surged forth all once, albeit out of sync and sloppily.

Before the Ekko and Lux could even do anything, the green creature jumped over their heads right onto the group of bandits, causing most of them to scatter and fall to the ground from the splash back. Immediately, the green creature reformed and began hitting any of the bandits that were still standing. Most of them were still in his range. The bandit with the rifle, however, was a safe distance away from the rampage.

He used this distance to his advantage, lining up a shot when the creature's back was turned. Then, he pulled the trigger of his gun, a maniacal grin highlighting his face the entire time. The bullet hit his target right in its back, creating a giant hole that reached through its chest. Lux looked on at the now-celebrating bandit, who was shooting shots into the air in celebration. She looked on in anger, twirling her baton and about ready to send a spell that would knock the bandit flat on his back.

Before she could, however, Ekko grabbed her shoulder. She looked back at him, then back at the green creature he was pointing towards. For a second, nothing happened and Lux was about ready to fight back. Then, the hole started to close up, the gelatinous body of the creature closing its wound quickly. Once finished healing itself, it appeared like nothing had even scratched it in the first place. It whirled around towards the man with the gun, an angry look on its face.

The man stopped celebrating, noticing what had happened and immediately reloading his now empty gun. At this rate, he would be ready to fire again before the creature even reached him. But instead of running full speed at the venomous bandit, or even jumping towards him, the green creature whirled its massive arms back, stretching nearly to where Ekko and Lux stood watching in awe. Then with all of his might, it launched its fists right at the bandit rifleman. Its fists collided painfully with the man's entire body, knocking him back into a brick building with extreme force.

"Is he on our side?" Lux said behind her hand to Ekko.

"I don't know. Let's hope so because that was badass!" Ekko exclaimed.

Lux smirked, but before she could even reply, another dozen bandits appeared from where the green creature had come from early. It was still dealing with the remaining original bandits, so Ekko and Lux finally stepped in to take care of their share of the fighting.

Before the bandits could fully surge over the collapsed building, Lux fired a condensed ball of light at their messy front line. The ball landed in-between five of the bandits. Once it did, it pulsed for but a second before exploding in a flair of prismatic light, knocking all of the bandits on their asses.

Ekko, though hesitant at first and jumping on his toes to pump himself up, joined the battle after seeing Lux's spell. His mobility was limited slightly, due to his Z-drive being almost useless, he was unable to revert time, phase jump between enemies, or cause a parallel convergence. So that left him his timewinder, makeshift sword, the agility he had _without_ the help of his Z-drive, and the broken arm he still had in a makeshift sling. This was going to be interesting.

He ran into the fight, sword held at his side. A bandit took notice of the young Zaunite and grabbed one of his buddies. They both charged at Ekko. Examining the situation quickly, seeing one of the bandits was some distance in front of the other and both of them having daggers, Ekko came up with a rushed plan of attack.

As he came closer to the first bandit, the Zaunite threw a timewinder. Instead of hitting the first bandit, it sped past him and hit his friend square in the jaw, dislocating his head from his neck with a sickening crack. While looked back in shock with wide eyes, Ekko jumped on the opportunity and impaled the distracted bandit.

He caught his returning timewinder before continuing on.

He spotted a bandit rifleman on the outskirts of the fight looking for a place to shoot from as his comrades scrambled every which way; some trying to escape and others doing their best to catch Lux or fight off the massive green creature. Running towards the rifleman, Ekko moved as fast as he could. The rifleman saw the Zaunite out of the corner of his eye and aimed his rifle right at Ekko. Upon seeing the weapon pointed at him, he immediately halted as fear took over.

The rifle was aimed right at him and Ekko was too far away to do anything about it. That was when he began to internally panic and his eyes mirrored that feeling. He took a hesitant step back. This was what he was afraid of, being put in a situation where he would most definitely die and he could do nothing about it. Time wasn't on his side for the second instance in the same day.

The gun fired, and Ekko heard it, but it sounded muffled, like it was coming from a further distance than it was. He brought up his sword, hoping that might help in some way. Before the bullet even reached him, however, Ekko noticed a big green hand stretch out in front of him halfway between himself and the bandit. The bullet hit the hand in the center of its palm, stretching the gelatinous material far enough to almost hit Ekko's face. Just as it touched his nose and he saw the bullet, it rebounded back quickly as the green hand returned to its form, while the bullet went screaming back towards the rifleman, hitting him right in the head. He fell over unceremoniously, definitely dead.

Ekko saw the arm returned to its normal length, seeing it belonged to the green creature. It nodded to Ekko before looking to the rest of the bandits who, thanks to Ekko, Lux, and their mysterious ally, began retreating from the village. They grabbed the injured and left the dead, scurrying down the dirt road that led out of the village and returning back to their hideout, wherever that was.

Not much later, the center was completely empty, except for its three saviors. The bandits had retreated and the villagers were scattered all around the rest of the village as they tried to escape the fighting.

Lux rushed over to Ekko, a worried expression etched on her face.

"Ekko are you alright?!" she asked, her tone matching how her face looked. "I saw the rifle fire in your direction, and then that… thing caught it, and… and…"

"Lux," Ekko chuckled, his frightened expression gone and replaced with relief. "I'm… I'm fine. See? No worries." By this point he had sheathed his sword alongside his ruined Z-drive and placed his free hand on Lux's shoulder to calm her down some. And he wouldn't say it, but to calm himself as well.

Lux scowled upon hearing that her friend was okay. She hit Ekko on the head with her baton before twirling it once and putting it away alongside her small satchels. "You idiot. I told you not to do anything reckless like that ever again not even an hour ago!"

"Like I had any choice! Ow…" Ekko rubbed the top of his head where Lux had hit him. "I needed to get in the fight somehow and I wasn't even injured. That is until you hit me!"

"Well, maybe you'll remember not to do something so stupid ever again," Lux said in a sing-song voice her back now towards the Zaunite, before turning her head to flash him one of her signature smiles.

He growled in response, turning his gaze away from the Demacian.

It was at that moment their green ally walked over to the pair, breaking up the fighting before Ekko could say anything back to Lux.

"Um… are you two alright?" it asked hesitantly in a deep, yet friendly voice.

"Fine," both of them answered at the same time before registering that the green creature had spoken. They stared at it with surprised looks on their faces.

"You… you can talk?" Ekko asked.

"Of course I can talk, what's that supposed to mean? I have a mouth don't I? Or… did it fall of again? Damn," the creature felt its face and breathed a sigh of relief upon feeling the jagged lines of its mouth. "Alright, good, don't have to look for it. But yes, I can talk." It crossed its arms over its chest, looking just a little annoyed.

"It's just a surprise, is all," Lux jumped in before Ekko could say anything. "Your voice. We didn't expect it to sound like that."

Once again, Lux had saved Ekko from his own words with her silver tongue. For a moment, the creature looked skeptical, but shrugged its shoulders and accepted the answer.

"Mom said I always surprise people that way. Anyway, thanks for the help with those bandits. Bastards always come around this time of year, but never that aggressive."

"Of course, we were happy to help. Thank goodness that woman found us when she did. Right, Ekko?" The Zaunite nodded in response, still looking in awe at the creature.

"Woman?" This garnered the creature's attention, he rushed up to Lux and kneeled down to her eye level. "What woman? Was she in a lab coat, wearing glasses? Was she hurt? Did any bandits chase after her?!"

Briefly caught off guard by the creature running towards her, she composed herself and responded. "Yeah, that's her. She's alright. We left her a short distance outside of the village after she ran down the road looking for help. She should be with the rest of the villagers by now."

The creature let himself relax, letting his shoulders sag in relief. "Okay, good. I'm glad she's okay. Again, thank you…"

"Lux. And this is Ekko." She gestured towards the young Zaunite who was now standing at her side. He made a small wave with his hand, the creature doing the same in response.

"Well thank you, Lux. Ekko. I'm Zac, it was nice meeting you, but I need to go check on her."

"Hold it, Zac!"

The trio turned in the direction of the new voice, seeing a bald man with a white lab coat walking towards them.

"Dad, you're okay!" Zac rushed over to the man.

"Dad?!" Ekko and Lux said in surprise at the same time.

"Yes, yes, this old man still has some fight left in him," he chuckled lightly. "Now, before we go see your mother, I think there's something you need to take of?"

The man – apparently Zac's dad – turned towards the town center where the fighting had taken place.

"At least two buildings have been reduced to rubble and a dozen corpses litter the place… make that a dozen and one. I know the other villagers should not put blame on you for this – especially for saving the village – but if you could at least clean up a little bit."

"But, dad –"

"No buts!" Zac looked crestfallen, as he visibly deflated – no, seriously, he literally deflated into a puddle of gelatinous goop. Upon seeing this, his dad shook his head. "Alright, son. Help dispose of the bodies in this area and I'm sure everyone else can take care of the rest of the debris."

At this, the green blob bounced ecstatically back into his bipedal form before quickly going about his task of taking care of the dead bandits. Turning away with a small smile from the spectacle, Zac's dad looked at Ekko and Lux.

"Thank you for watching out for him in the fighting. Sometimes Zac can bite off a little more than he can chew," the father chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. "And I'd also like to thank you for putting our minds at ease about my wife. We wondering if she would find any help."

"Of course, sir. We were happy to help," Lux responded.

"Yes, well, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Ivan Petriv. And you?"

"I'm Ekko, this is Blondie," Ekko responded, taking care of the introductions this time after finally breaking from his shock upon seeing Ivan was Zac's father and that woman who had asked for help was his mother.

"It's Lux, sir. A pleasure." She bowed to the man, while he nodded his head in turn.

"Indeed it is. I must ask, what brings two fighting capable travelers like you to a small village like Rivet?"

The question was a simple one, but Ivan asked it suspiciously enough.

Lux, picking up on the tone and cutting Ekko off before he could say anything, responded with, "We're just two wanderers traveling Valoran and studying the sciences it has to offer. I actually work with magic and its application to the environment, while my friend here," she motioned to Ekko "is interested in all things techmaturgy. That's the long and short of it really." The young blonde finished with a smile and recited her story with such sincerity, that Ekko almost believed it.

The doctor pondered this information for a minute. "And your fighting capabilities?"

"Well when one travels in a land as dangerous as Valoran, one needs to know how to fend for themselves. Like I said, I work with magic and Ekko, techmaturgy. We learned enough that we can apply combat use to both fields if we need to. Though, we try our best not to."

Again, her story seemed full-proof and the doctor couldn't contradict it or call the spy out on her well-woven lie. But before he could continue asking questions or voice his suspicion any longer, Zac jogged up to the group, a smile plastered on his face.

"Alright, all done dad! Let's go find mom."

With a reluctant smile, the doctor turned to his 'son'. "That quickly, huh? Well, let's go. Then we can return home." He focused once again on the two travelers. "Please, join us. After all, I'm sure you will need a place to stay. Maybe some dinner as well? It is almost night after all."

Before Lux could jump in to politely decline the offer and mention staying at an inn, Ekko jumped in. "That would be great! A home-cooked meal _and_ weget to talk with a fellow scientist? How could we pass that up? Right, Lux?" He elbowed her gently. Reluctantly, she nodded her head mechanically, still wearing a friendly smile to keep up the charade.

"Great! Now come along everyone, I'm sure Catherine is looking for us as well." The son and father duo took off ahead of Ekko and Lux.

Before they could follow, Lux pulled Ekko aside and whispered, "Are you crazy, Ekko? What if they find me out? I mean, I'm good at keeping my identity hidden, but that doctor looked extremely suspicious!"

Ekko shrugged Lux's grip away. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You worry too much. Besides, if he really is a scientist, then maybe I can convince him to let me use some of his tools to repair the Z-drive. I can't pass up that opportunity, Blondie. So, please," he dug his nails into his palms, nearly shaking with excitement at being able to fix his invention "just the night, that's all I ask."

Upon seeing Ekko's reaction and hearing his reason for accepting the offer, Lux sighed and shook her head. "Okay, but only until first light. After that, we need to continue on our way to Piltover. Deal?"

The young Zaunite's face beamed at her relenting to him. He grasped one of the Demacian's shoulders excitedly. "Thanks, Lux, you won't regret this! Now come on, we have to catch up with Zac and his dad before they leave us behind."

Ekko grabbed Lux's hand and tugged her along at a run to catch up with their hosts for the night.

* * *

 **A/N: Yup, still alive. Shocking, right? That is until school inevitably ends my life, but hey, y'all know.**

 **By the way, I have Twitch here with me – muzzled and caged, of course, I'm not stupid. He really wants out, it would be a shame if y'all didn't leave some feedback, or favorite or follow this here fic and I just** _ **accidently**_ **opened the cage in your home. While you're asleep. He's getting rowdy in there, ain't that right, buddy?**

 ***crossbow bolt hits the wall behind me***

 **Yup, rowdy. Well, maybe if you're lucky you'll be let out soon. But we wouldn't want that, now would we guys? Cue maniacal laughter.**

 ***muffled, crazed laughing coming from Twitch's cage***

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	9. Chapter 8: Making a Side Stop

**Chapter 8: Making a Side Stop**

"Alright, dig in, everyone!"

The woman Ekko and Lux met earlier outside of Rivet – Catherine – had lain out a large pot of what could only be a stew of some sort. It was massive, more than enough for everyone sitting at the table of the small Zaunite styled house. Even Zac was sitting at the table, having shrunk down to half his size from earlier by shedding some of the gelatinous mass off of his body. Where it went, the traveling pair really didn't want to know.

Upon opening the lid of the pot, a delicious smell of roast and potatoes rose with the escaping steam. Lux, relying on her manners, was able to control herself at the sight of the delicious stew, albeit her stomach telling a different story as it growled slightly. Ekko, on the other hand, was drooling. Who could blame him? He had never seen, let alone eat anything like this, and if it was as delicious as it smelled, he couldn't wait any longer.

Zac and his parents – which Ekko and Lux were still shocked and skeptical about –chuckled at the sight. Catherine reached for each of their bowls and poured a generous helping of her stew into each before handing them back to the two travelers. She then went about serving her family before finally serving herself.

For a few minutes, nothing was heard but the sounds of everyone eating and enjoying the meal.

"This is amazing!" Ekko said breaking the silence after emptying his bowl with a few hearty slurps. "Is it possible if I…?"

"Of course!" Catherine understood his meaning. "Help yourself, Ekko. It's rare I have someone over with an appetite that can match my little Zac's."

"Mom! I'm not little anymore," her son protested as he also served himself some more of the rich stew.

"You always will be my baby gelatinous boy to me," his mother cooed, pinching his cheek. "So, Ekko, I hear from my husband you like to study techmaturgy. Is that right?"

Ekko stopped mid-eating, putting his spoon down in his bowl before answering. The table chuckled at the sight, causing a slight blush to rise to his face.

"Yeah, I do. Have been ever since I was a little kid," he replied, telling the bit of truth that was in his and Lux's lie. "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you about it, since both of you are scientists in your own right."

"Well I'm not sure how much help we'll be, after all we focus on the study of biomagic over techmaturgy. But I'm sure we can answer any questions you have for us."

"Alright, first, what exactly is Zac?" Ekko asked bluntly, earning a slap on the shoulder from Lux.

"Ekko!" she hissed.

Both Catherine and Ivan chuckled, waving off what the young Zaunite had said.

"Well, first and foremost he's our son," Ivan began. "But if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty he's actually a gelatinous, regenerative bio-mass that we created from a combination of living algae cells, brain tissue, and a few mixtures of chemicals. At first he was just an experiment, but then, we learned Zac was developing emotions, feelings and had self-awareness. After we saw those first signs of humanity, well we started treating him more as our son than as an experiment. And so here we are."

"Wow, that must have taken a lot of trial and error to accomplish," Lux commented, wiping her mouth politely after finishing her meal.

Catherine and Ivan looked at each other and chuckled softly. Before Lux could ask what they were laughing about, Catherine cut her off.

"Actually, he was our first and only trial. At times he still is," she laughed softly at her own joke.

Zac rolled his eyes, but had a small smile on his face that told everyone he wasn't completely embarrassed by what his mother was saying.

"Amazing…" Lux said under her breath.

"Isn't it though? Now, my turn to ask a question. Why are you two traveling to learn? After all there are several universities and colleges in Noxus, Zaun, even Piltover that would appeal to minds like yours." Catherine asked curiously.

"I actually originally attended a university close to the Institute that focused on the application of magic to the living world. But eventually, I started to grow tired of the theory," Lux admitted. Ekko wasn't sure if this was true or not at all, so he listened in carefully along with the others sitting at the table. "So I left in order to witness magic in practice and help people with it."

"'Help people'?" Zac mumbled only loud enough for Ekko to hear.

"And then, I came to Zaun in order to see how I could aid people there. But it looks like I was the one that needed help. Not a day into my visit, I was attacked by muggers in a back alleyway. I thought I was done for, but then Ekko came and, well… saved me." She looked to her side at the young Zaunite, smiling at him for a moment. She shook her head slightly and softly giggled. "Um… after that, he stuck to me like glue. We've been traveling together ever since."

"Aw, well that's a romantic story, isn't it?" Catherine cooed at the two travelers.

Ekko choked on the soup he had been eating at the moment, while Lux laughed at his reaction.

Zac on the other hand turned to his mom opening and closing his mouth. "Mom!"

"Oh, I'm sorry the idea of it all just sounded so – "

"Okay, mom! We don't need to hear it!"

Catherine chuckled at her son's reaction. Then Ivan turned to Ekko asking him the same thing Catherine asked Lux not a few minutes earlier.

After recovering from his fit, Ekko answered, "It's the same as Lux, really. But I'm looking more to protect people before anything actually happens to them. You see, I grew up in the Zaun slums and life was never really easy there," he admitted reluctantly. "There I learned about techmaturgy, and made this little gadget." Ekko pointed towards his broken Z-drive, which he had taken off and put next to his seat so he could sit down properly. "It's a lot more impressive than it looks. So, after it was finished, I started protecting people who needed it and, um… Yeah. Saved Lux, she told me about her goals and I decided she would need some help, so I joined her."

Lux noticed that the young Zaunite forgot to mention both what the Z-drive did and his full story about his friends from the slums. However, she understood why he wouldn't want to tell people they just met the whole truth.

Zac looked thoughtful for a minute as he looked at Ekko and Lux, not voicing what was on his mind. His mother and father, on the other hand, were giving Ekko looks of sympathy.

Ekko shook his head and looked back up to his hosts with a smile. "Ah, but now I'm on the road. So it isn't all that bad, except I don't exactly have a place to work on the Z-drive when I need to…"

Lux smirked, realizing where this was going and why Ekko had told the couple as much as he had. She shook her head, berating herself for underestimating Ekko's own ability to control a conversation.

It was then that Catherine almost shot up from her table, a smile plastered on her face. "Oh, I know. Ivan…"

"No," he responded instantly as he looked at his wife, understanding what she was about to ask.

"Ivan, please? He's a young man who is interested in science! Not only that, but he's invented something of his own already. Now how rare is that?"

"No, no, absolutely not. It's my personal workspace."

"It hasn't been touched in months," Catherine added in. The rest of the table just watched; Zac wondered what the two were talking about, but Ekko and Lux knew exactly where this was going on. "If we have the chance to help someone who wishes to protect those he loves through science and we aren't taking that chance, then we're not any better than those who stand in his way."

This seemed to give Ivan some pause, as he went to speak, but stopped before he could say anything. He rose his hand to his chin in thought for a minute, the whole while Ekko and Catherine waiting to hear his response. Sighing, he reluctantly uttered one word. "Fine."

"Thank you, Ivan! I'm sure he won't do anything to damage your precious lab," Catherine said, kissing her husband on the cheek as a reward.

"Yes, yes, but only until you've finished working on your… device. After that, I'm locking her up again." He stood up from his seat at the table with another sigh. "Follow me. I don't know how much help it will be, since it is a biomagicist's set-up, but I'm sure we have some techmaturgy tools down there somewhere."

Ekko stood up from his seat with a big smile. "Yes, of course, that's all I can ask for. Thank you so much!"

"Hm. Now come on, are you going to stand there all day just saying thanks?" Ivan said with a gesture of his hand to follow him.

The young Zaunite nodded his head eagerly and followed the scientist.

Ivan opened the door to his basement, flicking a switch at the top of the stairs. A humming started coming from downstairs, showing some sort of separate power source powered Ivan's lab. Lights also flickered on the moment the humming started. With them on, the pair could see where they were going as the climbed down the stairs.

As the pair came to the bottom of the stairs, they finally saw Ivan's laboratory.

The lab itself was small, but in this case, quality beat out quantity. Several scientific instruments that Ekko couldn't name dotted the entire basement, taking up a big portion of the room. Most of them looked like they were meant for biomagic, not techmaturgy. However, Ekko knew enough about the science to know that most of Ivan's equipment looked pretty advanced. It couldn't compare to many of Zaun's more high-tech labs, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

In the farthest reaches of the lab stood a workbench. As the pair came up to it, Ivan blew off a layer of dust that was starting to collect on its surface. He turned on the lone light bulb above the workbench.

It was simple, of course, nothing special. Ivan brought a couple metal containers out from under the workbench. He opened them up and pulled out one of the many tools, flicking it on to see if it still worked. After hitting it a few times, a continuous arc of blue electricity flowed between its two prongs, showing it still had some life in it. With a smile, he turned the tool off and set it back in the container before turning to Ekko.

"Well, welcome to my lab. I know it isn't much, but this is all I have in terms of techmaturgy tools and equipment," Ivan pointed behind him to the workbench. "Hope it's enough."

"Hope so too," Ekko mumbled as he came up to the bench. He laid his hands on its surface for a moment before hefting his Z-drive on to the workbench and going to work on taking the machine apart. His hands were a flurry of motion as he took off parts and reached for different tools to get to the center of the Z-drive and fix whatever the problem was.

Ivan smirked, deciding that he probably wouldn't get anything else out of the boy. As he reached the top of the stairs, he could still hear the sounds of metal on metal and electricity whirring, followed by a string of curses. No doubt, something unexpected – and unwanted – had happened with Ekko's repairs. The scientist chuckled as he closed the door to his lab.

Ekko reminded Ivan of a younger, more naïve, version of himself.

* * *

Not much longer after dinner, Lux shuffled into the guest room that Catherine and Ivan had offered her and Ekko for the night. Being her helpful self, the blonde had decided to help with dish duty as repayment for dinner. She did it more out of politeness, not expecting Catherine and Ivan to say yes, but they accepted her help quickly. Along with how far she had traveled earlier today, the fighting with the bandits, and the amount of concentration it took to converse with Catherine as they washed dishes and _not_ slip up on her falsified story, Lux was completely and utterly drained of all energy.

Without even bothering to change or take her clothes off, she collapsed onto one of the single mattresses in the room. She kept falling in and out of sleep, before taking off her belt, baton, and small satchels; which were keeping her up by digging uncomfortably into her back. Finally, with a heavy sigh into her pillow, the Demacian quickly fell asleep.

She didn't open her eyes again until she awoke completely and looked out the window of her room to see that the sun had already risen. Sitting up from laying position, she stretched her arms and let out a pleasant moan. A smile highlighted face. She yawned contentedly as she stood up from her bed. She put on her belt, satchels, and placed her baton behind her back on her belt.

A look over towards the other side of the room and Lux's smile turned into a perplexed frown. The other single bed in the room was unoccupied. Not only that, but it was still made and looked like it hadn't been used at all. Unsure if anyone else in the house was awake, Lux made her way around from room to room as quietly as she could.

Her first stop brought her to the kitchen, where she thought maybe Ekko could already be eating breakfast. He wasn't there. Then, the entry room. Maybe he fell asleep out there instead? Nope, not there either. Finally, she came to the basement door, realization piercing through the early morning haze that clouded her mind. She shook her head with a small smirk etched on her face.

"Ekko, Ekko, Ekko…" she mumbled with a hint of amusement.

She opened the door quietly, descending the stairs into the laboratory Ivan had shown Ekko last night. The lights in the room illuminated the lab's many machines and instruments. Lux had seen nothing like them before, causing her to look at each one curiously, wondering what they did. Eventually, she came to the back of the lab and noticed a hunched form sitting down in front of a table. She noticed the familiar white Mohawk before anything else.

A heavy snore told Lux that Ekko was fast asleep. She came up behind him and opened her mouth before suddenly covering it with both of her hands. This was an opportunity if there ever was any, she realized. The mischievous part of her brain kicking in, the Demacian gently grabbed the back of the chair Ekko was sitting in. Once she was sure she had a good grip on it, she yanked it quickly out from under Ekko. His sleeping form fell to the ground with a solid 'thud' and he was up instantly.

Quickly, Ekko shook himself awake and reached for his make-shift sword, raising it in the air as he turned towards Lux

"What? Where?! You damned rodents, I told you: next time you mess with me or my boys, I'll- huh?" Ekko stopped his threat as he realized he wasn't yelling at the Trinket Trifectas, but instead at Lux. In her hands was the chair that Ekko had been sitting on, he recognized. It took a couple more seconds, but after seeing the chair, Ekko being treated to a rude awakening, and Lux obviously trying to hold in her laughter, the Zaunite connected the dots.

"Lux! What the hell?!" he yelled.

The Demacian couldn't hold it in any longer as she dropped the chair and immediately began laughing. She wiped a tear of mirth from eye. "S-sorry, Ekko. I… I couldn't… Couldn't resist!" she explained in between laughs.

Ekko growled as he turned his face away from Lux, trying to keep his scowl from turning into an unwarranted grin. Her positivity _and_ laughter were definitely contagious. The Zaunite sheathed his sword behind his back.

"Very funny…" he mumbled grouchily before turning back to his Z-drive.

Once Lux had completely finished laughing, she came up behind Ekko and peeked over his should to look at the Z-drive.

"So, did you fix it?" she asked brightly.

"No," Ekko replied disappointedly "I don't have the right tools to completely fix it. I've got most of the repairs done, but… Dammit, not enough for it to work properly!" He slammed his one good fist on the work table. His eyes were closed tight and one frustrated tear managed to sneak its way past Ekko's eyelids. "Ivan just doesn't have the tools I need to be able to properly fix it. For now, the Z-drive is just a hunk of useless junk and that…"

Ekko caught himself before he could finish his sentence. He drew in a deep breath and released it slowly with a shudder. He reached for the Z-drive and strapped it into place across his lower back as best as he could with one hand. Shaking his head, he turned back to Lux, his eyes focusing on the ground instead of looking at her.

"Never mind," he continued shaking his head as he walked past Lux. "Let's go, I'm sure that everyone's up by now. Think we can get some free breakfast out of them too?" Ekko added in at the end, trying to lighten the mood.

Lux nodded her head, a wavering smile on her face, but worried eyes trained on her Zaunite partner. She caught up with him on the stairs. She opened and closed her mouth a few times, wanting to say something but not knowing if she should. Eventually, she spoke, deciding to say her piece.

"Like I said, I'm sure that Piltover…" she didn't get the chance to finish her sentence.

Ekko abruptly stopped on the stairs, causing Lux to walk into him and almost fall back down the stairs. She looked at his back, noticing how Ekko's shoulders were rising and falling in time with his breathing.

"I don't want to hear about Piltover again," Ekko spoke through gritted teeth. "There's no way I'm going to ask for their help with this. They'll just steal the design, ruin it, or something will go wrong. I'm sure of it. They aren't as good as you think they are, Lux."

Lux furrowed her brows in anger, upset that Ekko was still being so stubborn and talking about her friends in such a way. "You know what, Ekko? Maybe if you got past your prejudice, you could see Piltover and Zaun are one and the same! The people are good there, they could look past you being from Zaun and help you! Why can't you do the same?"

"Because they always look down on us!" Ekko exploded, breaking his composure and still not looking towards Lux. "Don't you understand, Lux? It's because of them that Zaun is how it is. They progress so fast almost seamlessly and we don't know how they do it, they just do. Because of that Zaun has thrown all policies and ethics involving hextech and techmaturgy out the door and scientists can do whatever they want without restriction as long as it benefits Zaun's progress! My friends have paid for it. I have paid for it. If Zaun wasn't so absorbed in beating Piltover, maybe we could progress slowly with rules and regulations instead of treating mine like trash and worshipping scientists who break unethical ground like kings. We never stopped thinking about if we could to ask if we should. And Piltover _is_ to blame for that."

Ekko continued up the stairs, his rant over and Lux digesting the hated words with more worry on her face than before. When she began moving up the stairs again, Ekko turned to her in the doorway, his figure shadowed in a menacing way by the light coming from upstairs.

"Maybe a war against Piltover wouldn't be so bad after all," Ekko murmured only loud enough for Lux to hear.

After their argument on the staircase, the traveling pair stayed completely silent all throughout breakfast; Ekko ignoring all attempts at conversation with the scientists and Lux responding politely with few words, quickly dropping any attempt at friendly talk. Once finished with breakfast, the pair decided that it would be best that they continued on their journey. They gave their thanks to the two scientists, who also gave them each a pack with food, water, salve and proper potion for Ekko's injured arm, and any other gear for the road. Zac, on the other hand, wasn't there to see the two off, his parents telling them that he was still sleeping after the fighting yesterday.

Ekko and Lux understood, waving goodbye to the married couple and once again on the road. Just them. No one else.

They hardly spoke a word to each other. Ekko too stubborn to take back what he said or even apologize for it. While Lux was too shocked by what he had said to even strike up a simple conversation with the young Zaunite.

 _Did he really mean that?_ She asked herself internally. _Of course not he just… needs time to cool down after not being able to fix the Z-drive. Yeah, that's it._

She looked towards the young man who was watching the ground and sipping on one of the healing potions that Ivan and Catherine were kind enough to give them. She hoped upon hope that what she was thinking was true. Otherwise, there could be some problems when they finally arrived in Piltover. Namely, with the law enforcement who took such words as threats to the city as a whole. Not to mention such a stance could completely and irrevocably make it impossible for them to actually maintain any semblance of a friendship.

Lux sighed heavily and looked to her side, trying to preoccupy her mind with more pleasant thoughts.

It wasn't until around midday that Ekko even said a word.

"Lux," she turned to him, pleasantly surprised to hear him breaking the silence. "Let's stop for lunch." And just like that, the peppy Demacian's hopes of finally having a civil conversation with Ekko were dashed.

She looked glumly down at the ground and muttered, "Okay."

The pair found a small patch of trees to sit under. They sat across from each other a good distance away in silence for a few moments, neither reaching to open their packs. Ekko was the first to do so. His arm was starting to bother him again, and since he had a moment, he decided to put some salve on the wound instead of drink another potion.

Opening his sack he reached inside, searching for the cube-like glass container of salve. He couldn't find it, so he reached deeper, and deeper, until…

"WAH!" Ekko immediately brought his hand out of the pack. Lux looked at him in surprise, about to ask what the problem was, but Ekko answered her before she could say anything. "There's-there's something squishy in there. And not spoiled food or spilt water squishy, more like jelly!"

Lux came to Ekko's side as he peeked his head into the pack to see whatever was hiding in there. He pulled his head back almost instantly and Lux noticed something was now on his face. It was green and looked gelatinous, almost having the same look as Zac, but the creature was noticeable smaller and only had a singular yellow eye in the center of its mass.

Ekko stood up and started panicking. With his one good hand, he tried to pull the creature off of his face unsuccessfully. Lux jumped to her feet, deciding to help him. She grabbed the green creature with both of her hands and began pulling at it. It took a few good tugs, but eventually she was able to pry it off. She fell onto her rear with a solid 'thump'. Before she could recover and get a better look at the creature in her hands, it jumped out of her grip.

It began squirming away quickly like a slug towards Lux's pack. Another creature that looked similar to the first jumped out of Ekko's pack. They both were moving in the same direction. Eventually two more of the creatures raced out of Lux's pack. All four of them met in the same spot, combining into one bigger blob that began shifting and moving around.

By this point, Ekko had recovered and came to Lux's side, offering her a hand. She took it gratefully and nodded her thanks as Ekko pulled her up.

"What the hell is that thing?" Ekko wondered aloud.

"I have no idea, but it looks kind of like the same material Zac was made out of," Lux answered.

"I was thinking the same thing…"

At that moment, the green blob started sprouting legs, then arms, and then a familiar face. Zac sat on the grass, half his original size, legs sprawled out, and hand held to his head.

"Well, that wasn't exactly the reaction I was hoping for," he said, shaking his head and eventually standing up.

"Zac!" Ekko snapped. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Zac rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't mean to send both of ya into a panic."

"Too late for that," Ekko pouted.

"Zac, what are you doing?" Lux questioned, one of her eyebrows raised accusingly.

"Um… you see, you both mentioned yesterday that you wanted to help and protect people. So, I wanted to join you."

"Do your parents know you followed us?"

"No…" Zac admitted. "But I left them a note telling them where I was going. I'm sure they'll understand."

"That may be true, but we're trying to be inconspicuous. That's a little hard if we're traveling with a giant green gelatinous creature!" Ekko said.

"I figured as much, that's why I was hiding in your packs. Well, that and I needed to leave the village without you or my parents knowing. So, here I am."

"That would explain why the pack was heavier than it looked," Ekko muttered aside.

"Hey, I'm not that heavy!" Zac responded in offense.

"Okay, let's just take a step back here for a second. Zac, just give us a moment. Ekko," Lux nodded to her side, gesturing for him to follow her. They stopped a few yards from Zac, turning their backs to him and speaking in hushed tones.

"What should would do about him?" Ekko voiced first.

"I'm not exactly sure. We don't have the time to take him back to his village," Lux lamented for a moment.

"Oh, he's a big boy. I'm sure he can get back to his home without mom," Ekko snickered, before being hit in the back of the head rather forcefully by Lux.

"Play nice," she scolded. She took a second to glimpse at Zac, who was just standing there waiting for Ekko and Lux to finish their conversation. Her attention returned to the conversation quickly. "Maybe… maybe we can take him along with us? After all, he just wants to help people and with how he handled himself yesterday, I'm sure we could use the extra hand if we run into any more trouble."

"True, but didn't you hear me before? Won't people question us about a big, green, humanoid-like monster trailing us?"

Lux bit her lip for a moment. "You're right, but I still think he could help us. If we need to hide him, he can just split up again and stay in our packs. Besides I don't think he'll leave us even if we tell him to, unless you'd like to try to get him to leave."

Ekko sighed dramatically. "Alright, alright, fine, I get it. But only because he would be better company than a Piltover-supporting Demacian spy. Also," Ekko interjected as he left Lux before she could respond "you're probably going to have to tell him the real story before we set off again. Let him know what he's actually getting himself into. Got it, Blondie?"

With that Ekko walked back to his pack and sat down with huff, leaving Lux with the task of telling Zac.

She walked up to him, sparing Ekko an annoyed glance before turning to Zac to tell him the good news.

"Alright, Zac. You can join us." The gelatinous creature jumped for joy, happy that they had come to that decision. Lux wasn't finished, however. "But under one condition. Every time we need you to do so, Ekko and I want you to split up into your smaller selves to hide in our packs. Understood?"

"Of course," Zac responded gleefully. "I'm just happy to be tagging along with people who can actually help those who need it, who can change the world for the better. It's what I've always wanted to do."

"Well, about that. Zac we haven't been entirely truthful with you. You see, Ekko and I-"

"Hey!" The sudden surprised yelp stopped Lux mid-sentence. Both Lux and Zac turned to look at Ekko, who was pulling everything out of his pack, looking like he was searching for something. "Where the hell did all the food go?!"

Lux turned to look at Zac, who again was uneasily rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry about that," Zac apologized as Ekko glared angrily in his direction. "I got a little hungry on the way."

* * *

 **A/N: Yup, updating regularly now, even if it is just a character development chapter. Weird, right? Wasn't even expecting to finish this today, but hey, it's a good thing.**

 **So, hope y'all are liking the story so far and where I'm taking it. I'm sure some Zac fans out there are happy I included him in the story! Hope his characterization suits y'all's expectations. Anyway, feedback on this chapter or anything else would be amazing. I live off of it. It feeds my soul. And I don't think I need to remind y'all about Twitch.**

 ***rattling cage falls over, getting more aggressive as it hits the ground***

 **As I said, he really wants out and… HEY! No! No moldy cheese for you! That's only if you start behaving, understood? Or whenever I release you into a reader's house, whichever comes first.**

 **Peace,**

 **nickdaman6**


	10. Chapter 9: A Foreboding Foreshadow

**Chapter 9: A Foreboding Foreshadow**

Viktor walked out with a sigh. An annoyed, albeit amused, sigh. He stomped down the hallway alone leaving behind the meeting room he had just left, along with his message. The audacity of organics never ceased to amaze him, and the way he left the meeting would indeed amaze the organics too.

Professor Stanwick Pididly, a studious man who valued scientific progress at all cost, including claiming the work of his constituents as his own. Namely Viktor. So it was understandable why Viktor had a hard time both admitting to Professor Pididly's genius, as well as asking for his help. After all, Pididly – as much of a scientist as anyone else in Zaun – had pushed Viktor down the path he now walked. Which in a twisted sort of irony, Viktor had to thank his former partner for everything that had happened. If not for his greed and lust for fame and power, Viktor would not have discovered the path of the Glorious Revolution. When thinking of it in that light, it was easier to claim that Professor Stanwick Pididly – the so-called 'creator' of the sentient automaton Blitzcrank and the man behind the revival of Urgot – was indeed a studious man.

It was for that reason entirely that Viktor had come to his former assistant for help. He had indeed been a marvelous aid in the creation of Blitzcrank, and even more so of a genius in bringing back the Noxian executioner, Urgot. Even if _both were_ stolen from andbased off of Viktor's research. But again, Viktor put all of that behind him for the sake of his vision of a better, more perfect utopian Runeterra.

If Viktor could use Pididly to help him in bringing back more ruthless bloodthirsty barbarians such as Urgot, then he would have more soldiers willing to fight for his army. Once everything had settled, then Pididly would pay for his crimes. Slowly, painfully, and he would see his creations turn against him as Viktor destroyed their sentience and replaced it with artificial life. Bending them to his command.

The prospect of such vengeance made Viktor cackle softly to himself as he reached the elevator at the end of the elongated hallway in Pididly's mansion-like laboratory.

Waiting for him just in front of the elevator was a thin, lanky man covered almost entirely in bandages. His skin, rough and hewn, though still surprisingly human after all of the experiments this man had conducted on himself, was only visible if one looked at his face. He nodded at Viktor as they both proceeded into the open elevator.

Singed, who had forgone his armor and giant container of poison for his lab clothes, spoke first. "Hm, I take it that Pididly has agreed to help us then?"

"Of course, but what makes you say that?" Viktor inquired.

"Simple. I see no blood on you, nor did I hear any screams for pity or forgiveness. Again, simple."

Viktor scoffed. "I see your point."

"Then he knows what we wish to do?"

"As much as he needs to." Viktor turned to his ally, and the cyborg-man used the term very loosely. "And as much as you do."

"Yes, of course," Singed mused.

Viktor had told Singed, as well Pididly, of his plans to go to war with Piltover and conquer it in the name of Zaun. He even went so far as to explain how he would mold the war to Zaun's advantage – without speaking of the Void of course, or his Glorious Revolution. What information he offered pertained to a few blueprints for a supposed super weapon, as well as some ideas for sentient robot soldiers. Viktor knew he had garnered Pididly's attention with the robot soldiers, while luring Singed in with the promise to turn Piltover into a 'toxic wasteland covered in his experimentally unstable concoctions', as the Mad Scientist of Zaun put it. It was all either of them needed to know, all any of his allies needed to know. And from what Viktor gauged they accepted the temptation laid out before them without a second thought.

"Though, you must know, when this is all over," Viktor paused as his third arm handed him his staff "Pididly will beg for mercy. Vengeance is a common feeling felt by men and organics alike. It is one of the last few traces of my humanity that drives me. So you will understand when I say it is the last emotion I wish to feel before I fully become liberated of my organic self."

Singed smirked under the bandages that hid the bottom half of his face from view. "That I do, Viktor. Yet I still find it interesting to know you still have an organic brain after all the gibberish you spout about a 'Glorious Revolution'." The last of the mad scientist's words were mocking, as was the chuckle that followed.

Viktor had to suppress a minute wave of anger that flowed through his bionic body. It only lasted for a few seconds, but to Viktor, it was a sign that he still had some humanity left in him. He had to be rid of it soon.

"I find myself having to explain why I keep my brain to people quite often as of late. But to you, a chemist, I refrain from responding. After all, you only understand destruction and poison; not creation nor progress. And for that, I pity you."

"I'm sure you do. Just remember who your allies are in this upcoming war, Viktor." Singed huffed as the door to the elevator opened, pushing by Viktor and in a hurry to be rid of his 'ally'. The mad scientist turned to Viktor for a split second to have the last word. "And also remember that pity is an emotion. I hope we do not meet again until we are at war – or better yet, until we are leading a massacre."

With his last words, Singed left the lobby of one of Zaun's most massive scientific research buildings. For a moment Viktor stood in front of the elevator, thinking lightly on Singed's words. He shook his head, chuckling again after having to remind himself that Singed would just be another sacrifice in the future to come.

Viktor didn't utter another sentence as he too left the lab of his rival. As he walked down the streets of Zaun, the biotic man began walking towards the edge of the city-state's boundaries. He still had people to see, after all. Since Singed and his other allies needed time to prepare, as well as time to gather resources to aid Viktor, he needed to rally more individuals to his cause. And not just those who would provide him aid in the war, but others who could carry out specific missions for him. Having learned that the Demacian spy he tried to frame had survived thanks to some of his contacts in the Zaun police force, Viktor had just the job in mind for a certain individual who particularly loved the hunt.

She knew too much to be left running around Valoran freely. To that extent, she needed to be terminated.

* * *

"So, Zac. Are you sure Rivet is okay without you?"

Lux's question caught the artificially created creature's attention after they had been walking silently behind Ekko for at least an hour, conversation having died out gradually after already having nothing to do but walk and talk for the past five days.

"Definitely," Zac replied to Lux as he nodded his head vigorously. "My dad may not seem like it, but he has a few tricks up his sleeves. Namely a few carnivorous plants that he found while collecting data in Kumungu. He never told me what they were, but I'd be lying if I said they haven't bit my fingers off at least a dozen times. If they're vicious enough to do that to me, then imagine what they would do to humans."

Zac chuckled evilly, causing Lux to take a side step away from him for some unknown reason. Yet, she still smiled as she responded, "That's good to hear, as long as they're safe and you are okay with joining us."

"Of course I am. As much as Piltover hates my people, I can't just stand by and watch innocent bystanders lose their loved ones and die. So I'm staying and helping, nothing will change that." Zac crossed his arms stubbornly, causing Lux to roll her eyes amusedly.

Over the course of the time they had been traveling both Ekko and Lux hadn't learned much about Zac, just some of his likes and dislikes, and very little of his history. Whenever the topic of Zac's creation came up, he immediately stopped talking and would walk ahead of the pair before eventually being drawn back into whatever they were currently talking about.

On the other hand, Zac learned a lot about Ekko and Lux. Glossing over the details of her being a spy and Ekko being a runaway vigilante-fugitive, Lux told Zac what they were really doing. As much as he needed to know anyway. What he did know was that there was the possibility of a war breaking out if no one stopped it and that Ekko and Lux were trying to do just that. Zac didn't need to hear anymore. As long as he was fighting to protect those who couldn't protect themselves, he was happy helping the pair.

"Are we there yet, Lux?" Ekko groaned from the front of the pack. "We've been on the road for six days!"

"Well, do you see any tall buildings or enormous labs?" Lux asked with a knowing smirk. When Ekko shook his head in response, she continued, "Then no we're not." She giggled as Ekko sighed heavily and hunched over, slowing down and allowing his traveling partners to catch up.

This was one of the few times Ekko had spoken that day. Both he and Lux were still sore after the last argument they had back in Rivet, but they were starting to come around. It wasn't until the third day that Zac had grown tired of whatever was causing the feud between the two, so he forced them to apologize to each other. He wouldn't let them have dinner until they did.

Eventually, Ekko gave in and mumbled a half-assed "sorry" to Lux, who in turn replied with a sincere apology of her own. After that, they began talking again, though bickering most of the time. But there was a difference, Zac noticed, between how they argued before being forced to apologize and after. Their argument had turned from hurtful words to almost playful banter, both of them seemingly enjoying egging on the other.

"Well you know last I remember Piltover was full of shacks and the random lab here and there. So for all we know, we could be in Piltover. Right, Zac?" Ekko elbowed the walking, gelatinous mass with a chuckle, hoping to get him in on messing with Lux.

However, Zac asked innocently, "Is that what Piltover is really like, Lux?"

"Actually _no_ , Zac," Lux responded, making a point to glare in Ekko's direction. The young Zaunite responded by putting his arms behind his head – his broken arm having healed enough to move, thanks to Zac's parents' salves and potions – and turning his attention away from his companions. "It's a place full of buildings and towers touching the sky dedicated to advancing the sciences of Runeterra. People all around the town, from all walks of life come to the city hoping to pitch some genius idea or theory. It's actually not uncommon to see mechanics and scientists just walking around town in their work clothes as if they're dressed normally. Which for them that might be normal, now that I think about it."

"Wow," Zac responded in awe, his eyes looking into the distance. They were walking the path up a rather tall hill at the moment. "That sounds amazing, and like everything I've wanted to see."

"Yeah? Well, Zaun is even better," Ekko responded lowly, not happy to hear Lux talk up Piltover.

"I don't know, the times my folks talked about it and from what I remember, Zaun doesn't sound half as good as Piltover," Zac replied honestly, scratching his head.

"What!?"

Lux giggled at Ekko's reaction. As he noticed, he began walking further ahead, trying to ignore the laughing blonde and Zac.

"Your parents are probably right, Zac," Lux commented as Zac continued trying to remember what Zaun was like.

"You're probably right. So, when are we gonna get there, huh? I'm excited to see it!"

"Well, see where Ekko's stopped at the top of the hill?" Both Lux and Zac looked to see the young Zaunite paused at the spot she pointed out. "He probably just saw the taller skyscrapers of Piltover."

"Really? I gotta see this!"

Immediately Zac had started running up the rest of the distance of the hill, closing the sizeable gap between him and Ekko quickly. Lux giggled, before jogging at a slower pace to follow her two friends.

As Zac came to Ekko's side at the highest point of the hill, his jaw dropped all the way to the ground. Literally, all the way to the ground. Ekko looked on in mild disgust at the sprawling city only a few miles in front of them.

The silhouettes of numerous skyscrapers painted the horizon. Even from their vantage point, which was still a good distance away, the two Zaunites could hear the hustle and bustle of the busy city. Small objects seemed to be flying around in the sky, and vehicles stretched out from the numerous roads that led in and out of the city.

While the pair was staring at the city, a zeppelin-type vehicle flew in the skies overhead, no doubt carrying in passengers and supplies from all around Runeterra. It was miles above the ground, but it still added to the atmosphere. They watched it disappear into Piltover, joining the other dots milling around in the city's airspace. By this point, Lux was by their side, giving them a smug look of satisfaction upon seeing their reactions.

Once Ekko noticed this, he sneered at her and asked, "What?"

She giggled, before walking down the hill that would eventually lead to Piltover. "Nothing," Lux smirked as she turned back to the two Zaunites. "Just, welcome to Piltover."

With that, she continued walking towards the city, Ekko and Zac slowly in tow.

* * *

On the outskirts of Zaun, between the sprawling city-state and the dark forest separating Zaun from the rest of the world, sat an undiscernible shack. It was rundown, rotted, and appeared completely abandoned. The shack wasn't on any main roads, allowing most travelers to overlook it or avoid it. Even the shrouded light that made it through the thick polluted clouds seemed to direct its beams elsewhere. It would be wasted on that shack.

Though this poor excuse for a building was less than welcoming, Viktor walked up to it without hesitation. Fear, a human emotion that would cause most to turn around, had been replaced years ago by the cold logic of progress. Something this cyborg-scientist was appreciative of.

Viktor reached for the door, which collapsed onto the decomposing wooden floor as soon as he touched it. The sole inhabitant of the shack was immediately alerted to the new sound. However, he smelt the familiar mix of human flesh and mechanical parts long before he heard Viktor.

"Well, if it isn't the lord of the machines," a feral voice growled menacingly. "To what do I owe this… pleasure?"

"Show yourself, abomination. I have no intentions of exchanging pleasantries. I have a job for you," Viktor spoke without preamble.

Immediately from the shadows rushed a wolf-like beast on its hind legs. He closed the distance between him and Viktor quickly, almost coming face-to-face with the cyborg. His claws had wrapped around the scientist's neck, prompting Viktor's third arm to take action and ready its laser at the wolf-like beast.

"Job!? You mean like the last one where I nearly lost my life! That blasted inhabitant of the Void nearly drove me mad!" the creature said through gritted, pointed teeth.

"Calm yourself, Warwick. It is not one of those jobs. In fact, you may consider it a proposition, if you wish," Viktor replied without hesitation.

"Hmph, a proposition? Then speak, but quickly, before I grow impatient."

Warwick loosened his grip on Viktor's neck, but still held him in place with his claws.

"Very well. I assume you are hungry? Seeing as how your sense of smell alerted you to my presence before I walked in to your… lovely home."

At this, Warwick's stomach growled violently, causing the cursed creature to wince in pain. "Yes, quite. There is nothing but boring game and the odd, unlucky traveler." Warwick nodded over his shoulder to a pool of blood and bones picked clean. "But they offer me no challenge. I need to sate my thirst for the chase. Otherwise, there is little point."

"Then I think we can be of help to each other, my friend," Viktor offered.

"Pfft. You are not my friend, Viktor. Business partner, maybe, but even that is strained as of late. Though, I am interested in this proposition you speak of," Warwick admitted.

"Let me go, then, and I will finish telling you what I have to offer."

The cursed wolf-man thought to himself for a minute, before nodding his head curtly. He released his grip on Viktor, causing the scientist's third arm to retreat as well.

"Go on," Warwick prodded.

"I have a… loose end to take care. And as of now, she is out of my reach."

"Typical. Always some loose end or escapee you need taken care of."

"She is now in Piltover," Viktor continued, ignoring Warwick's comment. "A spy from Demacia that has some very valuable blueprints that cannot be given to the law in Piltover. They will know of my plans and try to stop me, if they find their way to the hands of that wretched sheriff. This would be an annoyance that would interrupt my research, and it cannot be interrupted any longer."

"From what you tell me, she doesn't sound like much of a chase," Warwick pouted.

"Do not worry, my friend. She is a formidable mage, and if my informants in the Zaun police department are correct, she is traveling with a friend. So double the challenge, twice the reward."

"Hm… I like the sound of this," Warwick admitted with a satisfied sound. "But I will need a name, and preferably a scent to go off of."

"Her name is Luxanna Crownguard, and this should suffice for a scent."

Viktor produced a cloak, which he threw to Warwick. The wolf-man eagerly sniffed the piece of clothing, allowing him to completely enthrall himself with the unfamiliar odor.

"Ah! Such a sweet, succulent scent. One that smells of magic and light. I am already eager to begin." Drool fell freely from Warwick's mouth as he hungrily began sniffing the air. "Consider this proposition fulfilled, and the girl, and anyone else who is unlucky enough to travel with her, dead."

With that, Warwick jumped violently through the roof of the rundown shack. A loud howl that started to fade away into the distance told Viktor all he needed to know, as he too left the ruined house.

This loose end was going to be tied up quickly.

* * *

 **A/N: Huh, returned to this sooner than I ever thought I would. Guess this is just what I wanna work on right now, even if I haven't had the chance to play LoL in a month and a half… roughly.**

 **This chapter has been in the works for a while now, well over a year since the last chapter I guess, so happy anniversary! As stated in my other works, I will work towards writing the next chapter, but I cannot promise any specific times or schedules for updates. The adult world is finally here, so I will be busy over the course of these next few months.**

 **As for Twitch, well…**

 ***pokes Twitch with a ten-foot pole***

 **Well… guess that's what happens when you forget the moldy-**

 ***Twitch snatches the pole and starts poking the author viciously***

 **HEY! STOP! THAT'S NOT GOING TO HELP YOU WITH GETTING MORE CHEESE! GIVE. IT. BACK! Alright guys, drop a review, a favorite, maybe a follow, and- OW! QUIT. IT! And MAYBE this pesky overgrown snake fodder will actually stop with the poking! Wait… how'd you learn to undue straps!?**

" **Bwahahahaha! That's right, pesky human! Write, write for Twitch! And bring me the cheese! Bwahahahaha!"**

 **STOP WITH THE GODDAMNED POKING!**

 **Peace – OUCH,**

 **nickdaman6**

 _ **P.S.**_

 _ **And the King of the Sewers, the Dealer of Poisons, the Connoisseur of Corrupt Cheese, Twitch!**_


End file.
